The Story Of Me
by IntrovertedMind
Summary: What if Artie hadn't lost the use of his legs in the accident but he lost something much worse, how would these changes affect the Artie we all know and love? Quartie-Centric. May have other pairings. Slight Character Bashing. OOC. AU
1. Prologue

**AN.  
>I have been a avid reader of fanfiction for a little over a year and I want to try my hand at writing.<br>****Review or PM me if you would like me to continue, even if there is only a small positive turn out I will probably continue anyway.  
>Feel free to flame but please only do so for valid reasons, I hate whiny bitches that just don't like the way the story is going. Peace.<strong>

**Disclaimer - I do NOT own Glee or anything related,... well I'm sure you know.**

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><p><em>I'm sitting in the back of our families 1970 Dodge Challenger. My dad's telling me all about the engine specifications and how I need to learn how to fix her up, in case she breaks down, when she becomes mine one day.<em>

_He's just trying to distract himself._

_I zone out his ramblings, as we are both prone to doing in either case, and look at my mother who is asleep in the passenger seat. I've never seen her as stressed as she was when she received the call from the hospital that Andrew was in critical condition from a knife wound to the ribcage; they said the knife wound sliced open a major blood vessel. I remember the frantic scrambling for the car keys amidst the heart wrenching sobs and frenzied screeches of my mom as well as being herded into the car with no incline to what was going on. If never been in as much pain as I was when my mom was sitting helplessly at the table, with the phone to her ear with eyes darting frantically around for something to distract her from the reality of the situation._

_She looks much more peaceful in her sleep than when she was awake I notice. Her chocolate brown hair flowed in curls down her pale face, framing and emphasizing her features. Even though I'm young and she's my mother I can't help but admire her beauty, she's short in stature, around 5"6, with a heavy build; meaning a slim and full figure. But what I like the most about her is her eyes, my eyes, our eyes, they're blue, cobalt blue; my favorite color._

_Thinking about our inherent eye color has my mind drifting to the last member of the Abrams Trio, my little sister Alexandra, who was left at home asleep with our families babysitter, Franny Fabray, completely oblivious to the dire situation Andrew got himself in. My baby sister was my world, even so young, which made me quite popular with the girls in my neighborhood; especially Franny's little sister Lucy._

_Me and Lucy have been best friends for three years ever since we were five years old, after I punched the kid that stole her lunchbox and pushed her in the sandpit. I was grounded for a month and was stuck inside the classroom during recess cleaning the graffiti of the desks and feeding the classes pet turtle, Jade, but it was all worth it after the first time she came to my house to thank me. After that we kind of just started hanging out in the classroom during recess together, talking about anything and everything, sharing our secrets, our hopes and dreams. Music was a big part of how we connected with each other, we hated the teen music that was so popular for our age, we liked music like The Beatles and such._

_We kind of just stuck like glue after my punishment was over._

_Whenever Franny babysat for us she always brought Lucy with her and the three of us would fall asleep curled up together on the couch watching some Disney show. Andrew didn't like Franny much after she turned down his romantic advances so he usually went out shortly after our parents left._

_Tonight was one of those nights._

_Franny left Lucy at home because she was asleep and Alexandra was already in bed; mom and dad didn't trust Andrew not to leave me on my own so they called the Fabray's to ask for Franny; Andrew left for a party as soon as their car was out of the driveway. When they got home they found Alexandra asleep, me curled up on the couch with Franny and Andrew nowhere to be found. It was the angriest I've ever seen them at anyone, especially us, and they decided to stay up and wait for him. When we got the phone call I wouldn't let them go without trying to force them to tell me what happened, which ended up with me just being taken as well._

_So, here I am._

_In a car with my parents driving to the hospital, breaking every road rule I could possibly think of and studiously ignoring my fathers desperate attempt to keep some miniscule form of normalcy during the car ride. Don't get me wrong I appreciate the gesture, but some things can be swept away with a few pieces of casual conversation._

"_Arthur, Arthur... ARTIE!"_

_My dads raised voice snaps me from my internal musings,_

"_Yeah Dad," I answer softly,_

"_Look, I know your worried about your brother, so am I, but we need to be strong for them, for your Mom and Lex," He replies just as quiet,_

"_I know,"_

"_Everything's going to be fine, Andy's going to be fine."_

_I look to my fathers eyes in the rear view mirror and give him a tentative smile, but otherwise stay silent. I return my startlingly calm gaze towards the shadowed lights of the darkness and the night stills around me._

_There's a flash of lights,_

_The screeching of tires against the asphalt,_

_A crash of metal and glass,_

_A scream,_

_And a splash of blood._

_The world is in motion but nothing is registering, sights, sounds, scents, all blending into a numbing dance of emptiness. I feel nothing but the frayed edges of the leather upholstery digging into the tender flesh of my back. My sight is blurry and unfocused and my head feels disconnected from the rest of my body as it lolls uselessly atop my neck. The putrid stench of burning gasoline invades my sense of smell and sends small shocks of reality into my nervous system. My ears ring almost painfully while I force myself to gather my bearings. My sense of smell sharpens, confirming my suspicions of was invading it, the ringing in my ears slows to a halt as my hearing returns to me, I begin to feel every rip and tear in my skin right down to the muscle and bones with a tingly feeling in my legs._

_My eyes ease themselves into a state of focus and the sight that greets me will forever be burned within my mind._

_My fathers glassy eyes staring into the depths of my soul in their last moments, every regret, every trial and every joy we had ever shared were passed through that glance. My mouth drops open in horror as my dad forces one of his famous crooked grins onto his face as the last bit of light in his eyes fade. Blood drips out of the corner of his mouth and nose while he is impaled by a steel pole that is straining through the windshield almost tauntingly. I feel the need to reach for him, to confirm for myself that he really is gone; so I search for his hands. One lays limply against the drivers side door while I trace the other toward the arm of the final occupant in the car._

_I recoil in shock as the sight of my mothers face consumes my world and leaves any errant thoughts of my father in the dust._

_Her hair is matted to her scalp from the various puddles of blood spread through the strands of chocolate, her face bares various scrapes and scratches that dominant the normally smooth expanse of skin. Her head is propped back against the headrest revealing the long, shallow slit cut along the base of her throat. She to is smiling, not a crooked grin like my father but one of acceptance and adoration, the kind only a mother can give to their children._

_Her rough voice breaks through the silence of the car,_

"_Are you... okay, baby," she asks as smoothly as she can, I'm lost and all I can do is nod. She keeps her serene smile even as the blood continues to flow in a crawling river down her chest,_

"_That's... Good," Her eyes meet mine and the look I receive forces me into action, I drag myself closer to her and climb over the divider separating the front and the back seats from each other. I crawl into her lap pulling my legs up with my arms, when they don't co-operate properly, while curling into a ball, and burrow my head into her shoulder, ignoring her blood dripping slowly down my face._

_The tears begin to fall immediately, almost without warning, and she raises her right arm to let it fall loosely around my shoulders, holding me close,_

"_Don't cry... baby," I feel her breath hitch as she carries on, "You have to be... strong now baby... for Lex," a feeling of confusion shatters through my heartbreak and as if reading my mind she answers my unanswered question, "Andy... made some... bad choices hon, he's not going... to survive the night... without my blood for... the infusion," my morbid curiosity is satisfied, I had forgotten Andy and mom were an AB-negative blood type, "So it's up to you... to... look after Lex now."_

_We sit in silence as I listen to her heartbeat slow, my tears have stopped now, I have no use for them, I need to be strong for everyone; even for mom, the sound of sirens in the distance brings me out of my catatonic state,_

"_Promise me," my moms voice shatters the morbidly peaceful moment but I nod into her chest anyway, "Promise, that... no matter what... happens, you will... always look after your family... always," I don't feel as if actions are enough to validate her final wish so I say quietly, with as much strength as I could muster in my voice,_

"_I promise,"_

"_Sing.. for me... baby... one more... time,"_

_I hug her close as the song flows from my lips in an almost automatic response,_

_**(Passion – Well Done)**_

_**Sometimes I don't understand**_

_**Why I, thought that I had all the time in the world**_

_**To go and see you a while**_

_**For just a little while**_

_**Too caught up in my own life**_

_**I didn't see the pain you hid with your smile**_

_**But now your not here with me**_

_**Should have been, could have been, would have been, alright**_

_**Wish I knew how to turn back the hands of time**_

_**Cause maybe then you'd be here by my side**_

_**Wish that I had done just a little more**_

_**Wish that I could see you one more time**_

_**But I know that god holds your life**_

_**Your battle is finally one and he said well done**_

_My voice cracks a little at the end but I keep my voice strong for her, for her last wish,_

"_Mmmm... Good... boy," I could hear the smile in her voice, "No... matter... what... you do, I will all... always be proud... of you," I smile with more happiness than I should feel, "Good... bye... my baby... boy... I love... you."_

_As the last syllable passes through her lips her heart slowly stops beating, I smile in acceptance while burrowing deeper into her embrace, "I love you too,"_

"Artie, Artie, ARTIE!"

I'm awaken from my day dream by my baby sister shaking my shoulder slightly, I smile to myself even as I drawl in an annoyed tone,

"What?"

"We're here, you need to pay the cab driver so we can leave," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Sure, sure." I reply, I know it annoys her greatly when I say that to her and I know I shouldn't, but I love it when she gets mad, she kind of rambles and splutters a lot; embarrassing herself in the process.

I pay the cab driver and ask him to pop the boot.

As I walk around the back to retrieve our luggage the driver takes the time to get acquainted with my sister. I smirk to myself as I watch Casanova try and sweet talk my little sisters number and the thought of the sound rejection she is about to dish out. As soon as the luggage is on the sidewalk my prediction comes true and she shoots him down with a ruthless precision born of much practice.

Perverted little bastards.

Not that I can blame the guy, my sister is very attractive, even at the age of 14 she was looking almost exactly like our mother. She had our mothers build, short, slim and curvaceous, her long flowing ringlets of chocolate brown, her soft features and of course her blue eyes. The only thing she inherited from our father was his "no-bullshit" attitude, not that I can blame her being raised like we were.

As the cab driver speeds of down the street I reminisce of the years before my emancipation.

We were shifted around amongst family members living in all sorts of towns and cities all over the world, but the inconsistency of a stable home environment was starting to take it's toll on her mental capacities. Eventually, when I turned thirteen, I asked the Aunt we were living with at the time to file me in for emancipation under the condition of me gaining a stable income. By the time I was eleven I was praised as a prodigy of the highest order, by my thirteenth birthday I had gained three degrees one in Particle Physics, and a minor in Electrical Engineering and Astrophysics, it was quite easy to gain income as a home based Experimental Weapons Designer. So within three months I had adopted my sister legally as my ward, bought a home on the California Coast, and enrolled her in a school that would last more then a few months, all in all I was happy with how her home life turned out. Recently, after my sixteenth birthday party, my sister started bugging me to allow her to go back to our home town of Lima, Ohio, to finish her high school education.

So here we are, at the origin of our roots, standing in front of our old family house,

"I still don't understand why you wanted to come here, we had it good in Cali, I thought you liked it there," I ask her with my California swag on,

"And I do, I love it and you for everything you did for me" she replies, "but I really don't remember much about our parents or brother like you do, and I want a way to be close to them, please try and understand," she finished softly while staring longingly at the old house. I look at her closely taking note of the fire in her eyes and the way she squared her shoulders and I sighed in resignation,

"Okay," I say,

"Okay?" she says hopefully while looking into my eyes,

"Okay, but you have to make it up to me," I say with slight force as she hugs me, I hardly ever use that tone,

"Of course, anything," she replies eagerly,

"I want you to do your best this year, I want top marks in all your classes, at least two extra curricular activities and no boys,"

"But," she protests and pulls back slightly, but I keep her there,

"No buts, those are my conditions, deal?" she glares slightly at me almost as if she's trying to intimidate me, after a minute of her glaring and my returned arched eyebrow, she relents and tilts her chin toward the ground,

"Deal,"

"Alright, now help me carry these inside."

As we make our way up the cobblestone pathway I take the time to glance about the front yard. The old oak tree is still as tall as I remember with the old tire swing still attached, the white picket fence is slightly faded but is other wise in good condition and the porch is still furnished with the old rocking chair and shoe rack. The solid slab of light brown teak wood that is the door is also weathered but otherwise, as healthy as ever, but the old welcome mat is completely faded, I turn the dulled gold door knob and push lightly.

We drop our bags in the middle of the entrance hall and glance around, the cleaners did a good job, the wooden floors are all polished and varnished, the old photos on the wall are re-framed and digitally remastered and the crystal chandelier in the center of the hall is in perfect working condition.

When I glance to my side to address my sister I found her next to one of the picture frames looking at a particular photo on the wall. It was a photo of our family, Dad, Mom, Andrew, me and Lex, with the Fabray's at the old carnival down by the pier at Lima Heights Adjacent.

Boy did it take some time to convince Russell Fabray to go.

I walk to stand beside her and place my hand on her shoulder, as soon as my hand makes contact she spins on her heel and launches herself into my arms, her body shaking with suppressed sobs. I wrap my arms around her as she tightens her grip on me and buries her head further into my chest, I rest my chin atop her head and kiss her temple lightly,

"Welcome home kid, welcome home."

* * *

><p>We had been spending the night curled up together on the couch with me re-telling stories about Mom, Dad, Andy and even the Fabray's. Lex absorbed every word with almost god like reverence, but eventually I had to put my foot down and send her of to bed for the long day ahead.<p>

It's now sometime around midnight and I probably wont go off to bed for another three hours, considering I have to organize for the rest of our stuff to be brought here, read over and sign the enrollment forms for our time at William McKinley High School not to mention the meeting I have with Principle Figgins. God, I can't believe I'm even thinking of letting, let alone actually allowing, her to go to McKinley, the football team can't pull even five passing yards without fumbling a snap, the basketball team couldn't hit a three pointer to save their lives and it'll be a cold day in hell before the baseball team can pitch at 70mph through an entire game; all my favorite sports aren't worth shit in this town. Hell the only half decent athletic team this school has to offer is The Cheerios and I would be caught dead with my pants down before I let the bitch Sue Sylvester have any influence over my sister.

Ugh, even back in 2004 they were at least a half decent athletic school.

But I promised her that I would let her attend and I always keep my promises.

It's three o'clock in the morning and I'm finally finished, god I hate paperwork.

I rub at my eyes in a ditch attempt to keep them open and stand to stretch my legs. A yawn tears itself from my throat unbidden and I try in vain to force it back down as I walk from the dining room to the kitchen. I open the fridge and view the contents, a carton of OJ, a few energy drinks and what was left of our Chinese take out. I debate over the OJ or the energy drinks for a second before I take the carton and grab a glass off the counter.

After I finish rinsing the glass out I walk through the hallway into the lounge and perch myself on the arm of the old Laura sofa while I glance about the room. It's still the same as I remember, cream painted walls, Victorian style windows, brown Sophie lounge suite, the old 64" plasma screen dinosaur, cobblestone fireplace and the old Steinway Grand Piano in the far corner of the room facing the window.

Memories assault my mind as I stumble my way towards the Piano.

My first music lesson with my mom, when she would play me to sleep, the first song I learned to play and the last time I played together with her. I sit on the old bench as I stroke the wood covering the keys, the wood feels ragged on my calloused hands, so different from back then. I lift the cover back and give a few experimental strokes of the notes, it's a little of key in places but it's still manageable. The notes flow through my mind as I remember my mother fingers dancing across the keys, playing them with refined grace,

**(Yurima – The River Flows In You)**

The haunting melody echoes across the vast expanse of the house, engulfing every corner in daunting silence. The notes float around the room bringing with them every time I shared with my family, with my friends, with Lucy. I lose myself in the music pushing every feeling I have into the keys, stroking and caressing every note in reverence. My eyes flutter shut of their own accord and lights pulse behind my eyelids in time to the smooth rhythm, hypnotizing me into a trance of delirious ecstasy. As the music comes to a close the notes begin to fade and the lights recede,

"That was beautiful," my sisters voice breaks through my mesmeric state, I turn my head to see her rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, leaning against the frame of the door leading to the entrance hall, in nothing but a simple tank top and boxer shorts,

"You should be in bed," I state,

"I couldn't sleep," she replies sleepily,

"Sure, sure,"

As I begin to close the cover of the piano the rustling of fabric approaches me, my sister slips into the left over space of the small stool, pulling her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around them while resting her head against my right shoulder. I take notice of the small shivers her body is emitting as well as the patches of gooseflesh scattered haphazardly across her skin and wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her closer, offering her as much heat as I could,

"Your freezing, you should be keeping warm, and a tank top and boxer shorts do not constitute warm,"

"I know but," she hesitates,

"But what?" I implore softly,

"I feel... alone in this house, or something, I don't know," she says frustratingly,

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" I ask

"I'm not a little girl anymore you know, I don't need my brother to keep the nightmares away anymore," she says in a huff, I chuckle good-naturedly,

"I know but it might help," I say softly, she becomes shy and stares intently at her crossed legs,

"Could I?" she asks bashfully,

"Of course," I say.

Her fingers slip from her knees, letting her feet fall to the fall, and drift lightly across the ebony and ivory blocks of wood,

"Why don't you play like that anymore?" she asks curiously, I smile sadly,

"It was something that I shared with mom and my best friend, I don't know, after mom died I kind of eased away from it, then when I had to leave my friend behind I just stopped playing from inside," I place my index and middle finger of my left hand lightly above her heart, "you know," I finish, I look to her to see if she comprehends what I was trying to express, she nods absentmindedly and pushes on the keys lightly, "your actually the only person to hear me play like that apart from mom, not even my best friend heard me play like that," I reveal,

"Play something for me," she says tiredly,

"I don't know Lex, I'm kind of tired and you should be getting some..."

"Please?" she asks,

I glance down to her as she pays rapt attention to my every movement. Our staring continues until I finally break the silence,

"Fine."

My arm falls from around her shoulders and she slides herself closer and glues her head to my shoulder,

**(Kevin McHale- Dream A Little Dream Of Me)**

**Stars shining bright above you**

**Night breezes seem to whisper I love you**

**Birds singing in the sycamore tree**

**Dream a little dream of me**

**Say nighty-night and kiss me**

**Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me**

**While I'm all alone, blue as can be**

**Dream a little dream of me**

**Stars fading but I linger on dear**

**Still craving your kiss**

**I'm longing to linger till dawn dear**

**Just saying this**

**Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you**

**Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you**

**But in your dreams what ever they be **

**Dream a little dream of me**

**Stars fading but I linger on dear**

**Still craving your kiss**

**I'm longing to linger till dawn dear**

**Just saying this**

**Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you**

**Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you**

**But in your dreams what ever they be **

**Dream a little dream of me**

I hold the final note on the keys and exhale slowly as her head comes to rest completely on my shoulder while murmuring unintelligibly. I press a soft kiss into her hair and move my left arm underneath her knees to carry her bridal style into my bedroom. I climb the staircase slowly in an attempt to let her rest peacefully, when we reach the door to my room I give it a light tap with my foot and push slightly on it with my back.

My bedroom is fairly plain, nothing to elaborate, a massive four poster bed dominates the center of the room with the foot of it facing the door. To each side sits a bedside table next to another set of double doors, the right is adorned with a reading lamp designed to be shaped as a skull as well as a picture of the two of us with our friends back in California while the left is decorated with a single picture of our family in the front yard with Franny and Lucy and a simple LED alarm clock. The double doors on the right and left side lead to the bathroom and the walk in closet respectively, the walls are covered in artwork that have increasingly darker themes as you turn and a 62" flat screen television is secured above the door.

I set her gently on the right side of the bed, I smooth her hair back out of her eyes, covering her with the quilt, and kiss her lightly on the forehead. I walk into the bathroom and begin to run a shower as I strip myself of clothes and walk to stand at the basin looking intently at the reflection in the oversized mirror.

My hair is a dark brown color, almost black, much darker than my mothers chocolate brown, that flows around my face to the right in a natural framing effect to my shoulders. Cobalt blue eyes that are slightly glinting in the light thanks to the clear colored contacts I'm wearing. My skin is lightly tanned to a darker cream color devoid of any imperfections otherwise plagued by your standard teenagers. My chest and arms are well defined, hinting at the taut and hard muscle beneath, with a tribal like spider tattooed in a band around my right bicep. My left arm is inked with a continuous streak of lightning with a forked like head beginning at my shoulder and ending at the wrist in a single bolt, my moms name adorns the top prong of lightning, closest to my pectoral, while my fathers and brothers name were on the forks beneath. My little sisters name is stretched right along the length of my arm in a pulsing design surrounded in flower petals of lilies, as per her request. My stomach as tight and compact, streamlined almost like a swimmer, which is adorned with the black ink of another tattoo. This tattoo is very elaborate and also my favorite, its basic design is that of a sword with the a guard and hilt shaped as a phoenix head with two angel wings flowing elegantly down either side of the blade, surrounded in a continuous ring of flames. The only distinguishing feature being the two last names of my two families along the steel of the blade, Abrams + Fabray, even after all this time I still consider them family.

I sigh and move myself to stand under the cascading waves of water descending from the shower head in a vibrant display of grace. I breath of pleasure escapes my lips as the slightly scorching water burns across my skin, relaxing my muscles in a peculiar way. I don't know how long I stay in the shower, but I exit and dry myself as thoroughly as possible and wrap the towel around my waist while walking around the bed to gain access to my closet. I slip on a pair of boxer shorts and finish toweling off, as I re-enter the bed area I turn of the lamp on my sisters side off the bed and crawl under the covers on the opposite side of the bed. My sister stirs from her sleep slightly before backing against me while throwing her left side over me loosely and resting her head on my chest. I kiss her lightly on her brow and drift off with one last statement,

"No matter what happens, no matter how old you get, you will always be my baby sister."

* * *

><p>I'm awoken by the obnoxious sound of the alarm clock, fuck I hate that thing.<p>

My arm snaps out of the covers of its own accord, looking for the annoying hunk of plastic currently plaguing my peaceful sleeping. Before my hand can break the thing in two the noise is cut off with a laugh,

"Good morning sleepyhead," my sisters annoyingly jovial voice breaks through my half asleep mind,

"Mmmm," I grumble irritatingly as I try to burrow deeper into the covers of my bed,

"I know your not a morning person, but this is just ridiculous, it's almost eleven o'clock" she begins, "but in any case the moving trucks are here and you need to sign them off before they start any work," she finishes, I flick my hand toward the door in a dismissive wave before a weight crashes into my spine, knocking the air from my lungs,

"Get up, get up, get up, get up..." she drones endlessly, I shut her up with a pillow to the face, I roll onto my back and sit up pushing her onto the floor in the process, I smirk lazily,

"I'm up," I say smugly,

"You didn't have to be so rude," she grumbles while picking herself up,

I push the covers away from me and slink my way into my closet to retrieve a plain white muscle tee and a pair of faded gravel ripped jeans. Once I'm dressed I walk a little more lively through my bedroom and down the stairs to meet my sister in the kitchen,

"Make you some breakfast and be ready to leave in about a half hour, we got some things to do today," I command,

"I'm not your fucking maid," she says playfully, "Do you want something?" she asks sweetly,

"Of course woman, make me my coffee," I answer just as playfully,

"Sure, sure," she says in a mocking tone of voice, I shake my head in fake exasperation,

"Half an hour," I state as I walk out the door.

Marcel is waiting for me outside leaning against the bonnet of the truck,

"Hola pendejo," he says as he pushes off and grabs me in a one armed man hug, "here I thought you weren't gonna show for your own shit ese," he says teasingly,

Marcel's 6"4 muscular frame completely dwarfs my 5"11 lithe build, he has dark mocha skin with beady eyes and black hair styled in an up down fade. He wears a simple ripped sleeve button up denim jacket open to show off the thick stock of muscles that's visible thanks to his strange aversion to t-shirts. The rest of his attire consists of dark blue jeans and a pair of plain white Nike Air Force high top sneakers. Marcel grew up in the slums of Cuba where he developed his "mess with me and you get fucked" attitude through one of the local street gangs, until an old business associate of mine saw him fighting in the streets and brought him back as a guard for the old lab. After I fell out of the development project for the "presidents confidential weapon stash" he kind of just up and left with me and now he pretty much lives with us.

"Yeah my bad puta, I was a little busy last night," I say teasingly, He grabs me in a head lock and ruffles my hair,

"Yeah, Yeah, homie," the 22 year old says as he lets me go, "alright, lets sign off so I can get a decent work out in this shit hole, and you can do your paperwork crap," he says cockily,

"Sure, sure," I say condescendingly, "just remember who kicked who's ass in our last sparring session," I finish while walking away to consult the manager, me and Marcel have been taking mixed martial arts classes since we first met,

"That was a lucky shot ese, don't think it'll happen again," he yells after me, I just throw a smirk over my shoulder as I sign the papers of confirmation.

"Y'all have got my arrangement plans right," I ask politely,

"Yes sir, we're ready to go as soon as you leave," the manager says immediately, I finish reading over the specifications of the papers,

"Alright I'll see you when I get back with the rest of your tip." I say as I walk to the final vehicle, a car transporter,

"I hope you took care of my babies," I say jokingly with a serious under tone to the driver,

"Of course," he answers much more seriously, "they are beautiful," he says reverently, I laugh happily,

"Yeah they are," I say as I pass him a wad of Benjamin bills, "keep the change." I say as we exchange the keys, he looks at me in worship,

"Thank you," he says at a lost for words,

"It's cool," I say as I walk to the back of the truck to admire my girls.

The first car in the line up was one I restored myself with some help from my Uncle Aaron, a 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge with black and chrome vinyl interior, the Vacuum Operated Exhaust was refurbished and reattached and the body was painted in metallic jet black. The second in the line up was a car I had begun rebuilding in preparation for my sisters sweet sixteen, a 2008 Jaguar XK8 with tan leather interior and a sound system like no ones business, a sub woofer in the base of the boot as well as speakers directly beneath each seat in the car. Then the final vehicle is somewhat of a personal project that me and Marcel have been working on for a couple of years with Aprilia, a Tuono V4R, it's an experimental design we've been trying to perfect over the last few weeks and has finally payed off, Aprilia has granted us the use of their V4 engine and we have detailed it in black and chrome, what can I say? simple is always best.

I break out of my admiring reverie and begin to move every one of them into our driveway starting with the Jag in the garage along with the bike. When I park up I notice Marcel had came up on his bike that I bought for his 21st birthday, a 2008 Harley, the latest on the market at the time. After finally parking them up I decide to leave the Pontiac on the road and just get Lex to hurry up and leave.

As I walk through the entrance hall she meets me in the doorway with a cup of coffee and the paperwork we need to finalize today,

"Marcel said that you would be in soon," she says in answer to my stunned look, I smile slightly and chuckle as she hands them over,

"Okay yeah, we need to get a move on..." I start,

"Yeah, yeah, we need to stop at the mall though, I need new clothes..." she cuts me off,

"You have more clothes than a fucking Kardashian, I don't think you need more," I interrupt now,

"Yea but those were clothes specifically for California weather, I need clothes to match the climate here," she says matter-of-factually, I just shake my head and say,

"Fine whatever but we need to leave now then, my meeting with Figgins is at 12 and it's already 11 : 30,"

"Cool." she says with a smile.

As I grab my black leather jacket hanging on the hook of the door and walk towards the garage we pass Marcel and with a sharp "look after the house" we pile into the car and sped of towards McKinley High in a rush. The car ride is filled with chatter about inconsequential words from my sister and anecdotes of landmarks we past from me as well as the background music of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers CD currently taking residence in my player.

Her insistent chatter becomes more animated and lively the closer we get to the school and it's quickly getting on my nerves. Just as I reach the end of my tether we finally pull into the parking lot of the school and exit the car. We walk together towards the administration office and submit the rest of our enrollment papers into the front desk and ask for directions to Principle Figgins office. After gaining the directions from the administration desk we navigated our way to his office waiting room.

When we arrived we were greeted by his PA,

"Excuse me, we have an appointment with Principle Figgins at 12," I say with a polite tone, she stares at me with a deadpanned expression,

"Your late," she says,

"Only by 2 minutes," I say in a placating voice,

"Your still late," okay now I'm annoyed, I lean forward and slam my hands on the desk while getting right in her face,

"Alright listen here bitch," she gasps in offense, "I just flew here last night, stayed up to finish filing your stupid fucking paperwork, and I'm really not in the mood for your insolent behavior." I glare, "So stop acting like a petulant child and notify him of my presence immediately." I might sound like an arrogant ass, but hey sue me I'm still tired. She stares at me with her mouth agape for a full minute before alerting him over the intercom,

"He'll see you now," she says in a snobbish and slightly dismissive voice,

"Thank you," I say politely, "Come on Lex," she smiles cheerfully at the PA and waves as we walk past her.

As I open the door I come face to face with Principle Figgins.

He looks like a slightly overweight man in his 40's with black hair in a box looking cut and brown eyes. His skin tone is dark but lighter than a Ghana type shade and he has a kind of submissive air about him like he'll cave easily to any demand, all in all, I like him.

"Welcome Dr Abrams to our school," he says in accented English,

"Thank you sir, it's good to be here and please, call me Arthur or Mr Abrams whatever is suitable," I say charmingly,

"Of course, of course, Arthur and you must be Alexandra, I have heard a lot about you from the California Academic Bureau," he says in an excited voice,

"It's Lex and I hope it wasn't all bad," she says, matching my tone with one of her own,

"Not at all, Ms Abrams, I assure you it was nothing but the best," he replies,

"That's good, I really hope to finish the remainder of my education here at McKinley," she says sweetly,

"Most definitely, you are practically already part of the school, we just need to finalize your electives for the year," he says as he begins typing away at his computer,

"Before we begin the finalization process," I interject, "I trust that our names won't be used in anyway to promote the school in any way without our full co-operation," I finish seriously, he laughs nervously,

"Of course not Arthur, we will, of course, respect your privacy," he replies, I scrutinize him for a long minute before I give a small nod,

"Proceed,"

"Okay we need to sign you both in to the system, before we can enroll you into classes..."

"We've already submitted our enrollment forms at the administration desk, so we should already be in the system," I interrupt,

"Of course let me just, double, check that, yes, yes, there you are, would you mind just confirming the details of these applications," he asks professionally,

"Sure," I say shortly,

"Freshman, Alexandra Lillian Abrams, age 14, no allergies or health problems, emergency contact Arthur-John Abrams, blood type O- and no criminal record," he checks off, I nod at every break he takes in between,

"Sophomore, Arthur-John Alexander Abrams, age 16, no allergies, prescription contact lenses, emergency contact Marcel Delgado, blood type O- and no criminal record," I continue to nod throughout his checklist until he reached the end,

"It indicates here that you are your sisters legal guardian, how is this possible?" he asks enquiringly,

"Emancipated Minor," I answer, bored out of my mind already, "the court notice should already be in there,"

"Very well, now for the electives..." he says

By the end of the meeting it was somewhere around 1 : 30 and we had decided on our electives for the year with Lex taking, English, Biology, Algebra II, Phys Ed, World History, Dance, Spanish and Film Studies, while I chose, AP English, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, Sociology, Phys Ed, Drawing, Spanish and Study Hall. The rest of the time was consumed going over conduct and guidelines regarding dress code and behavioral discipline.

What a drag.

By the time we actually got back to the car it was approaching two o'clock and we still needed to do grocery shopping and clothes shopping,

"Finally, can we go to the mall now?" she asked, whingeing slightly,

"Yeah sure but we gotta be quick, we still have grocery shopping to do, not to mention school shopping," I say quickly,

"So only three hours," she says cheekily, I smirk,

"Yeah, sure, like that's going to happen," I reply,

"Let's just go, we're killing shopping time," she says in between laughs,

I start the car and pull out of the parking lot.

The mall is only a few minutes away from our house so by the time we get there it's almost two-thirty,

"Come on Artie, your killing valuable time here," she says as she speedily exits the car,

"Alright alright, I'm coming," I say as I also step out of the car. I take notice of the strange looks we receive and deduct that it's probably the car that's attracted a lot of attention. I walk around the car and slip on the aviators that always hang on the inside pocket of my jacket and put my arm around Lex's shoulders.

It's been two hours in the mall already and I'm kind of glad this place is so small because its cut back the time I have to spend here. We are on the last store in the entire mall and it's only the last store because it is the only "shoppable" store left in this dump, according to Lex,

"Alright lets just get in, find what you want, and get out, okay?" I beg her pathetically,

"Alright fine, I only needed a pair of flats anyway," she answers flippantly,

I was so distracted that as we cross over the threshold of the store I crash into a few girls loaded with shopping bags, sending them to the ground. As I bend down to pick them up I take my time to analyze the girls, the first one I analyse is the Latina with the bad attitude, probably one of, if not the, queen bitch of whatever school she goes to. She looks to be around my age with caramel like skin and long dark brown hair, pulled back in a headband, to match her eyes. She has a short stature, about 5'5, and a lithe frame, probably a gymnast or a cheerleader. She is dressed in a red spaghetti strap tank top covered with a white leather jacket, her legs are clad in black skinny jeans and black three inch heels. The next one I take note of is the seemingly blond air head. Her hair is also held back by a head band, she is the tallest of the three at around 5'8 and has blue eyes, not as deep as mine or my sisters, but more of a light blue. She also has a slim lithe figure, though a little fuller in the assets department, and is clad in a plaid white and black dress secured around her hips with a brown belt. Her feet are adorned with plain white ballet flats, she has three anklets on her left ankle and, what looks like a felt drawing of a cat on her right.

But its the last girl that captures my full attention.

She is of the same build as the Latina but with an air of cold confidence surrounding her, if I had doubts who the queen bitch was out of these three, I have none now. She also wears a pair of plain white ballet flats with a single charm bracelet hanging around her right ankle. She is dressed in a pure white and silver striped shoulder strap dress held together at the waist with a red sash, while her arms are covered with a yellow cotton pull over. Her sandy blonde hair falls around her face in elegant curls, highlighting the sharp arch of her eyebrow. High cheek bones and soft pink full lips accentuate her beauty even as her small sharp nose punctuates her elegance. But when our eyes meet, I tense up and clench my jaw even as happiness slowly swallows me, her eyes are hazel/brown and almost the same as I remember, the only difference being the coldness that now permeates them. I stand slowly with confidence and purpose and hand them their bags, I bow my head slightly with an apologetic smile,

"I'm sorry, I was distracted," I admit softly, the Latina is the one that retaliates first, as expected,

"Oh, I'm sorry, did we miss the memo that we should give a shit about your problems pretty boy," she says in a sarcastic tone,

"No," I begin, "but you did miss the memo that slutty biker chic is out of season this year, but that's alright, I'm sure people will remind you," I reply in a false happy voice, my comeback draws a giggle from the other two, that is quickly stifled behind their hands, and a full out laugh from my sister,

"Oh you better take that back before I ends you emo reject," she says with a pissed of expression while getting in my face, which is actually quite impressive considering her height, as I open my mouth to retort a hand on my arm prevents me,

"As fun as this is we need to get my shoes and get out of here," she glances at the Latina that doesn't look like she wants to move and continues, "look he's sorry and he said it, there's not much else he can do, no one got hurt and nothing got damaged, so can you please just leave it alone," she finishes, the blonde air head speaks up now,

"Your really pretty," she says, "just as pretty as San," she continues while indicating the Latina, "and like super smart, but I'm hungry," she says turning toward the newly dubbed "San", "and you promised me ice-cream" she finishes sagely, the Latina frowns and turns away from me to talk to the blonde,

"Fine Britt, let's go," San says, she spins on her heel grabbing Britt's wrist and pulling her along, she pauses and throws a question over her shoulder,

"Are you coming Q?" It's just then that I realize the second blonde, Q, hasn't stopped staring at me the entire time we were arguing with San, she looks almost like she remembers me but not quite, but the question snaps her out of it,

"Yeah, sure," a more mature version of her voice as a child flows from her lips, as she passes me I can't help but give her a clue,

"It's good to see you Luce," I say lowly so only she can hear, she stops dead in her tracks as I walk with Lex further into the store, feeling the burn of her gaze the entire way.

* * *

><p>By the time we get home it's almost seven-thirty and although I'm tired as shit, I also feel a great amount of accomplishment with the one, almost two, days we have used. The pantry is fully stocked, as is the fridge, not to mention how full Lex's dressers are. All books and writing utensils are purchased and stored in our new lockers at school and the entire house is finally clean and set up just as I wanted.<p>

We had the rest of our left over Chinese take out because Marcel had already eaten pizza before we got home. After some messing around on the piano and sharing more stories of our childhood with Lex, I finally sent her off to bed with a cup of hot chocolate while I finish painting the walls of the master bedroom, well my bedroom.

The final product ended up being a, what I think is an accurate, depiction of the plains of hell, you know, fire and brimstone, suffering souls, the king of hell standing on a cliff face. I hate the new bibles depiction of Satan, the snake or grotesque monster, I much prefer the fallen angel version, my theory is that everyone is a good person, but we are all flawed people at heart, no matter what anyone says, everyone is flawed.

So here I am, at ten o'clock at night, watching re runs of the Vampire Diaries and sipping on a rum and coke, courtesy of Marcel. I hope the idiot isn't going to get himself killed tonight, I need a house sitter while I go to school to keep an eye on Lex. Shit, school starts tomorrow, I wonder if I'll see Lucy.

As the water level of my drink decreases so does my will to stay awake.

* * *

><p><strong>AN.<br>Hola Pendejo - Sup Idiot**

**Puta - Bitch**

**Andrew - Andy**

**Alexandra - Lex**

**I don't care if it's impossible to be that smart or if the story is unlikely, it's fanfiction, get over it, it's called fiction for a reason.**

**R&R and Flame It Up**


	2. First Day

Shit, were going to be late.

I really shouldn't have said anything about her clothes as we left, but I had to open my trap and get roped into wardrobe duty, which incidentally consists of standing in the middle of Lex's room looking like an idiot while she changes into every article of clothing she has while commenting until she finds that _thing _that's just right.

Maybe I should start from the time I woke up.

My alarm didn't wake me up the first time around and I had set the sleep timer for a half hour, so instead of waking up at six-thirty I woke up at seven. Luckily, at least, Lex was awake and making breakfast while I was in the shower and doing my morning workout regime, not necessarily in that order. By the time I had chosen what to wear, a plain white muscle tee, deep faded gray jeans, white Nike Air Force high tops, black leather jacket, a pair of aviators and a small silver cross shape locket, it was already around seven-forty-five. Another fifteen minutes were spent eating breakfast and criticizing what Lex was wearing, which eventually led to wardrobe duty. Wardrobe duty took a whole half hour and she finally decided to wear a black vest dress with a puffball skirt covered by a white air force bomber jacket with a fur collar and a pair of plain white ballet flats. Which left us with about fifteen minutes time to get to school in average travel time of half an hour, so instead of taking the Jag like I had intended I had to take her on my recently polished Tuono V4R; and now we are stuck at a traffic light just around the corner from the school with less than five minutes to spare.

The light finally turns green and I speed off onto the intersection, cutting off the driver beside me and almost hitting another car, a beat up baby blue hunk of scrap metal, that was turning onto the same lane as I was in. I ignore it all as I focus solely on getting to the school on time but it seems the world has other ideas considering we are about to encounter another set of lights. My patience has reached the end of my tether and I turn off onto the sidewalk and down the consequent hill it resides on. The hill is bumpy and hard to navigate safely but I manage to get down relatively fine and pull on to the road McKinley High sits on. The massive McKinley High School's Cheerios sign almost blinds me with it's ego filled tackiness and I almost hit the parking lot entry divider.

What a ride.

* * *

><p>As we walk through the parking lot after parking the bike, I see a group of what looks like the generic football jock clique surrounding a well dressed boy around my age with plain brown hair swept to one side and soft features in front of a rubbish dumpster, anger floods through me as I'm reminded of Andy's accident. I was just about to go and help the kid when the beat up blue car I almost hit pulls into the car park and out steps a man wearing a brown business jacket and a plain light blue dress shirt with a red tie. As he stands to his full height and closes the door, I take the time to analyze him. He is about 5'11 with brown hair combed back with a shit load of gel, he wears a pair of blue jeans and a pair of brown leather shoes, a pair of square rimmed shades adorn his eyes and he carries a brown leather satchel on his shoulder while he handles a stack of papers on the same arm, he walks past the group surrounding the unfortunate boy and they shift uncomfortably to a more casual circle resembling that of a friendly discussion,<p>

"Making some new friends Kurt," the newly dubbed "Kurt" looks uncomfortable, the teacher is either aware of the situation and just doesn't care or he is too stupid and distracted with something else, but the jock with the cheap Mohawk answers,

"He sure is Mr Schue," the teacher, Mr Schue, just walks past them patting the freakishly giant dude on the shoulder as he does,

"Hey Finn, you still owe me that report on..." insert some indiscernible Spanish here, which, I assume means he is a Spanish teacher,

"What?" the clueless Godzilla stutters confused,

"What you did last summer," Mr Schue says with a chuckle as he continues towards the front entrance,

"Almost, halfway done with, almost all of it Mr Schue," he says with a nervous chuckle,

When the teacher is out of hearing and sighting range the Mohawk wanna be Mr T. speaks up,

"It's hammer time," with those words the two guys closest begin to pick him up and I begin to approach,

"Please, this is Mark Jacobs new collection," he begins,

"Wait," the venerable giant whale commands, the guys back off as he steps up to them and holds his hand out for the boy to drop his blue jacket into, "Okay," he says with a careless shrug,

As they begin to lift him into the trash compactor I intervene,

"What the fuck do you think your doing?" I ask in a dead whisper while pushing the two guys away from Kurt, the other guys in the circle look at me like an alien on crack before someone begins to speak,

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, fresh meat, it don't concern you, so move your tail before I put the Puckzilla beat down special on your pasty little ass," the now sporadically self named Puckzilla says threateningly while flexing his limited biceps, I smirk a little,

"I don't think messing with a guy doing nothing but minding his own business," I take a wild guess and glance back at him to confirm and judging by his expression I nailed it right on the head, "is of your concern either, so why don't you take your "Puckzilla beat down special" and your wanna be B.A. Baracus style and make me," I say pushing Kurt behind me more, the Mr T sideshow glares at me before making a mad dash at the collar of my leather jacket, I let him grip it and pull me close just so I can use my next line,

"If you don't remove your hand in the next three seconds, I will shove your nuts so far up your ass you'll be licking ball sweat for the next month," I said as deathly quiet as I could, the looks on their faces almost made me laugh but I held strong,

"One," He glances nervously at his hand and then at his buddies, looking for back up,

"Two," I say more urgently, coiling my muscles and closing my fingers into a fist, he glances back at his fist and finally into my eyes,

"Th..." a hand shoots out from my peripheral vision and forcibly yanks his hand away, I trail the hand to the owner and am met with gigantors lanky frame,

"We should be getting to homeroom, here," he says while handing me Kurt's jacket, he spins on his heel and walks towards the entrance of the school followed by his band of merry men,

"This ain't over," Puckzilla throws over his shoulder, I roll my eyes and turn too Kurt,

"Are you okay?" I ask politely with a small smile,

"Yes, thank you, but you shouldn't have done that they rein supreme around here, they could..." he rambles nervously,

"I don't care, and here," I interrupt him, "I assume this was very expensive, I'll see you around" I say trying to brush him off nicely,

"Oh yes, very much so, it cost me a fortune, but your not interested in that, did you just start here I don't remember you from around town and everyone knows everyone here," he rambles endlessly while looking at me in admiration and a little lust, oh he is totally gay,

"Um, I'm sure you are very interesting and all but I really need to go to homeroom, so," I hope he sees it as the brush off it is, thankfully he does,

"Oh okay, I guess I'll see you around then," he says slightly despondently,

"Yeah, later," I finish as I turn on my heel and stalk my way back to Lex's side,

"Did you have fun?" she asks sweetly in annoyance, I ruffle her hair with a near undetectable grin,

"Of course, but alas the fun times have come to an end and we must depart for the dreariness of the school day, come." I say with finality while walking at a sedated pace in front of her,

We are at the main entrance with only a minute to spare,

"Artie you asshole, look at my hair," she complains heatedly, I glance at her aforementioned locks of chocolate,

"It looks fine too me, maybe your just being paranoid," I smirk slyly, "or maybe I need a new prescription," she glares at me and spins in a huff and stomps her way to the double doors of the school with me in tow, "You have freshman orientation in the Gym so you better be off now," I say,

"Sure, sure," she replies airily, she pushes on the door and is met with a crowded hallway, I walk up behind her and place my hands on her shoulders simultaneously spinning her to face me,

"Don't get in to trouble today okay," I say seriously looking into her eyes,

"Of course," she nods as I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close, we stay in this position for a few seconds before I pull away,

"Of you go woman, we don't need you to be anymore late," I say as she skips of down the hall toward the gym.

I glance around the halls of McKinley as I wander towards my homeroom, it's just as disgusting as I remember high school used to be, but at least I'm the same height as my peers now. The social food chain is just as prominent in this high school as any other, never mind that everyone here is likely to and up as a dead beat loser selling crap off the street for a buck. You have the A-Typical jocks, cheerleaders and social butterflies, or as I like to call them The Personal Insecurity Projectionists. Then there's the nerds, the losers and, at the risk of sounding like a racist, the Asians or as I like to call them The Over Achievers. And finally there's the goths, the loners and the pacifists, or as I like to call them The Social Outcasts. I would generally fall into the Social Outcast category with a few fingers in the Over Achiever and Personal Insecurity Projectionists pot, not the snobby end of the formers characteristic chain but the intelligence and work ethic end, or the total asshole attitude of the latter, but the fact that I like sports and am relatively good at them.

God, defining yourself in high school is so insignificantly difficult.

* * *

><p>The bell rings as I walk into my homeroom for the year, Room 304, carrying the satchel with my book for the day inside over my shoulder. I walk to the front of the class and approach the teacher while the last remnants of stragglers files in. She is old, around 40 if I had to guess, short and plump with shoulder length light brown, almost blonde, hair in a bob. Her face is aged and wrinkled with narrow green eyes dressed in a white t-shirt and cardigan with a pair of brown capri pants, damn old people have no fashion sense,<p>

"Excuse me are you Mrs Hagberg," I say politely with a genial smile, her face remains as an impassive cool mask,

"You must be the new enrollment," she says in boredom while rifling through her attendance folder, she pulls out a slip of folded paper and hands it to me, "This is your class schedule, do not lose it as you will not be issued a second, am I clear?" she says in a stern tone leaving no room for argument,

"Yes mam," I answer with a slight bow of my head, she seems satisfied,

"Good, I trust you to choose your own seat and do your own work, you are not a five your old so I will not treat you as one, now I need to see Principle Figgins, it seems that I haven't received any copies of the school map," she says while turning to leave,

"Of course mam," I say as she leaves the class, I turn and survey the classroom seating arrangements, even in here the social dividers are firmly in place, the outcasts are at the far side of the door taking up two columns, the nerds are all piled in the front rows taking up the front three and the jocks and cheerleaders are at the back filling the rest of the space while chatting and texting. There are a few seats left scattered about the three social classes but the one that catches my eye is at the very back corner, it's out of the way of everyone, I could see the entire class from it's position and best of all, I have to go right down the middle of the jocks to get to it. Now normally I don't go looking for trouble but there's something about that Mohawk asshole that aggravates me and luckily he is the first person I have to pass. He's sitting with two large, what I assume to be, offensive linemen, one is of African American descent, he is large with brown eyes and a buzz cut while the second is a white dude with a slimmer large build and brown short curly hair, they both wear a plain colored shirt beneath their Letterman jackets and a pair of jeans. Behind them sits the cheerleaders I met at the mall dressed in their Cheerios uniform, including Lucy, or Q as they call her, she must go by Quinn now, pity, I liked Lucy. They're talking obnoxiously loud between themselves, saying things about someone that just got slushied, whatever that means. I walk down the center aisle mentally preparing myself for the small conflict I'm going to create, I drop my satchel slightly so that it's on the same level as Mr T's face, while clearing the emotions off my face, the bag connects with the back of his head, knocking him off balance, causing the phone he was holding to crack on impact with the edge of the desk, he stands up with an angry expression and turns to me,

"What the hell man?" he says questioning me venomously, the class has quieted and the teacher has stepped out for whatever reason, I stop and turn towards him, I tilt my head and smile slightly condescendingly,

"I'm sorry I didn't see you there," I say in false civility, his face contorts into a visage of rage,

"Bullshit you didn't see me pipsqueak, don't think I don't remember you, I'm sick of you already and no one's here to save you now," he says in vehemence while motioning the two gorillas to back him up, I give them a cursory glance and look away in a slow dismissive manner, the smile remains on my face as I drop my satchel and turn myself to face them fully and comment,

"First, you do realize they stopped _you_ from getting hurt, right?" I ask rhetorically in jest, "and secondly, I'm only an inch shorter than you," I pout in mock sadness, "the pipsqueak comment hurts," the class has realized the imminent fight and has cleared a nice little circle for us to smack talk in, I glance around the room into the eyes of all the witnesses and see the hate they have for the three little boys I'm facing, they must torment these people on a daily basis to garner that much loathing. Mr T is about to make a move when the Latina "San" speaks up behind me,

"Holy crap you boys are pathetic, we don't need to be witnesses to the testosterone fueled pissing contest, so shut the hell up and sit your asses down," she says in annoyance,

I glance at her and her friends over my shoulder and analyze their facial expressions, she really is annoyed at the happenings between me and the three musketeers, but I can see the underlying hint of worry there, for what I don't know. The blue eyed blonde one is oblivious to the seemingly seriousness of the situation and is vibrating in her chair in excitement, but Lucy's expression has me smiling genuinely in my mind, she's worried about me,

"This ain't none of your business Lopez, so be a good little girl and keep it to yourself," Puckzilla says with a sneer, a bit of history there I'm guessing, "me and the boys got a score to settle with the new kid," he says while flexing his arms, she snorts derisively and begins to retort before Lucy steps in,

"Enough, the both of you," she says looking between them, "you don't want another juvy stint do you Noah," she says while looking at the mohawk with a raised eyebrow, "and you can't afford to get suspended or you'll be kicked off the squad," she continues while looking seriously at San, both of them keep the same stubborn expression, she finally shakes her head and sighs, "fine if you want to be Lima losers for the rest of your lives go right ahead," she finishes while crossing her legs and folding her arms across her chest, I glance at her over my shoulder and smile a little more genuinely at the sight of her, just as perfect as I new she would be,

"You should listen to her," I say with a mocking smile toward "Noah", "we wouldn't want you to be a Lima loser for the rest of your life," I look him up and down, "would we," my mocking smile increases in intensity.

In a micro second his face contorts into a feral snarl, his left shoulder shifts toward me and he lunges for my face, god this kid cannot fight. I shift my head slightly to the left, enough so that his fist slides between the junction between my neck and shoulder, and duck my shoulder into the upper ribcage, knocking the breath out of him. Instinct takes over and my left hand raises itself to grip at the base of his skull, trapping him, while I shoot my right knee into the lower half of his ribcage. I feel, more then hear, his short grunt of pain as he hunches over and I drop my right elbow into the back of his head. The two gorillas he calls back up finally realize he's getting his ass kicked and they both move to help. As Noah drops to the floor I rush at the ivory half of the duo and spear him into the ground. I straddle his legs, locking them together, and let my right fist fly into the left side of his jaw while pulling back my opposite fist. His head snaps toward my descending left fist and the contact with his face sends a resounding clap throughout the room. Before I can continue my arms are forcibly jerked up and I feel arms weave themselves under my armpits and hands lock at the base of neck. I'm pulled off of the white ham hock and lifted into the air,

"Not so tough now, are we pretty boy," Mr Ebony whispers in my ear, well, more like grunts, by now Noah and the Vanilla has recovered and is slowly staggering toward us, the rest of the masses are quiet causing me to laugh slightly at the "intensity" of the situation, Noah wipes the blood leaking slowly down his lower lip and stares hard at me in hate,

"I was gonna let you off with a light pounding but now you've pissed me off," he stalks closer and grabs me by the collar while loading back his right fist, "time to die fresh meat,"

"MR PUCKERMAN!," I glance over his shoulder and suppress my threatening smirk, both Mrs Hagberg and Principle Higgins were standing at the door, excellent timing Mrs Hagberg,

"Hey Principle Figgins, how are you today?" I tried my best to wave with my hands locked above my head, "these model students have been helping me get acquainted with the student body," I smirk as the chocolate bear lets my arms go, "isn't that right guys?" I finish with a pointed look at Noah, he nods emphatically,

"Yeah Mr F, me and the boys were just talking to the new kid about, uh, the football season, yeah, and how we need a new, uh, running back, yeah," he stumbles over his explanation, I open my mouth to give a more valid reasoning of our current situation when Figgins interrupts me with a smile,

"That is an excellent idea Mr Puckerman," he says enthusiastically while turning to me, "it would be a great way to integrate yourself with the rest of the students, what do you say Mr Abrams?" I smile at his suggestion grudgingly,

"Of course, it's a brilliant idea," I say politely, his smile widens,

"Excellent, try outs are during lunch time, and gear will be provided for you," he says excitedly,

"Thank you sir, I'll be there," I say with a slight glare at Noah for getting me into this,

"Very good, in the mean time I would like a volunteer to show Mr Abrams around for the day," I glance at Principle Figgins in incredulity as a few hands are raised, before Principle Figgins can select a student Lucy speaks up,

"We'll show him around, won't we girls?" she says with a raised eyebrow toward the other two thirds of the pussy cat dolls, there comes a mixed reply of "Yeah totally," and "Sure whatever," from the two before Figgins speaks,

"Thank you Miss Fabray, I'm sure you will treat Mr Abrams as apart of our McKinley High family, I will notify your teachers of your exemptions from arriving late and I will see you, Mr Abrams, after school in my office," he says while leaving,

"Sure Figgins," I wave slightly at his retreating form, Mrs Hagberg takes her seat at the front of the class while me and the three musketeers pick up our fallen objects and move to our respective chairs, I stop just after I walk past Lucy,

"Thanks," I say and continue walking to the back, I drop my bag on the desk and slip into my chair, pulling out my iPod and laying my head down on my bag, I turn on a song to pass the rest of the homeroom period,

**(Run This Town – Jay-Z ft Rihanna, Kanye West)**

**Feel it coming in the air**

**Hear the screams from everywhere**

**I'm addicted to the thrill**

**It's a dangerous love affair**

**Can't be scared when it goes down**

**Got a problem tell me now**

**Only thing that's on my mind**

**Is who goin run this town tonight**

**Who goin run this town tonight**

**We goin run this town tonight**

**We are yeah I said it we are**

**This is Roc Nation pledge your allegiance**

**Get your fatigues on, all black everything**

**Black cars, black cards, all black everything**

**And that girls a black bird**

**Riding with their dillingers**

**I get more in depth if your boys really real enough**

**This is La Familia, I'll explain later**

**But for now let me get back to these papers**

**I'm a couple bands down and I'm trying to get back**

**Gave Doug a grip, I lost a flip for five stacks**

**Me, I'm talking five, comma, six zeroes, got zeroes jigga**

**Back to running circles round niggas, now we squared up, hold up**

**Life's a game, but it's not fair  
>I break the rules, so I don't care<br>So I keep doin' my own thang  
>Walkin' tall against the rain<br>Victory's within the mile  
>Almost there, don't give up now<br>Only thing that's on my mind  
>Is who goin' run this town tonight<br>Hey, hey, hey  
>Who's goin' run this town tonight<strong>

**We are, yeah I said it we are****  
><strong>**You can call me Caesar in a dark Caesar****  
><strong>**Please follow the leader, so Eric B we are****  
><strong>**Microphone fiend this the return of the God****  
><strong>**Peace God, ah ah, it ain't no nobody fresher****  
><strong>**I'm in Maison, ah, Martin Margiela****  
><strong>**On the table screaming, "Fuck the other side, they jealous"****  
><strong>**We got a banquet full of broads, they got a table full of fellas****  
><strong>**Yeah, and they ain't spending no cake****  
><strong>**They should throw they hand in cause they ain't got no spades****  
><strong>**Yeah, my whole team got dough****  
><strong>**So my banquet is looking like Millionaires' Row**

**(Chorus)**

I**t's crazy how you can go from being Joe Blow  
>To everybody on your dick no homo<br>I bought my whole family whips no Volvo's  
>Next time I'm in Church please no photos<br>Police escorts everybody passports  
>This the life that everybody ask for<br>This the fast life, we are on a crash course  
>What you think I rap for to push a fucking Rav 4<br>But I know that if I stay stunting  
>All these girls only gon want one thing<br>I can spend my whole life good will hunting  
>Only good gon come is it's good when I'm coming<br>She got an ass that'll swallow up a G-string  
>And up top, uh, two bee stings<br>And I'm feasting off the Riesling  
>And my nigga just made it out the precinct<br>We give a damn about the drama that you do bring  
>I'm just trynna change the color of your mood ring<br>Reebok baby, you need to try some new things  
>Have you ever had shoes without shoe strings?<br>What's that, yeah baby, these heels  
>Is that a may what, baby these wheels<br>You tripping when you ain't sipping, have a refill  
>You feelin' like you running huh now you know how we feel<strong>

Before the final seconds of the song are finished the headphones are ripped from my ears, I glance up slowly and am met with the vision of Lucy and the other two cheerleaders standing imperiously above me with their hands on their hips, homeroom must have finished already,

"What's your first class," she asks impatiently, I smirk sarcastically,

"AJ, nice to meet you too Quinn," I reply in correlation with my smirk, she looks at me with a raised eyebrow,

"Excuse me," she questions offended,

"Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were introducing yourself, that is the polite thing to do, isn't it?" I say innocently, she looks vaguely annoyed before sighing,

"Quinn Fabray," she extends her right hand, I reach out and grip it lightly with mine while turning it palm side down, I lock my eyes with hers as I dip my head and brush my lips lightly across her knuckles, she withdraws her hand quickly and folds her arms across her chest, I smile slightly,

"A pleasure," I say directly to her before diverting my attention to her cohorts, "and you are?" I ask interestingly, the Latina smirks and slides herself into my lap while looping her arms loosely across my shoulders,

"You can call me Auntie Tana," she runs her hands down my arms sensually, "and you might be an asshole, but your a hot asshole, and I just can't help myself," she says while grinding herself slightly into my lap, I raise my eyebrow at her in challenge and smirk cockily, I slide my fingertips lightly across her hips and across her lower back while moving my head to whisper in her ear, her breath catches when my hands slide down to her ass and my breath glides across her cheek,

"Honey, you're way out of your depth here," I whisper huskily, with that I stand us up and slide her onto her feet while planting a peck on the corner of her mouth, "keep trying chica," I step back with a wink and sling my satchel over my shoulder, I turn my attention to the last girl there,

"That just leaves you," I state, she looks confused,

"Leaves me where?" she asks, I frown slightly before it clicks how she could have taken that statement, I smile charmingly,

"I'm Arthur John Abrams III, but you can call me Artie, what's your name?" I ask her quietly so that only we can hear while extending my hand, she giggles and covers her mouth with her left hand in an attempt to stifle her laughter and clasps her right one with mine,

"You have a funny name," she says simply, "I'm Brittany" she finishes, Santana, I'm guessing, looks annoyed and locks elbows with Brittany,

"Enough with the meet and greet and shows us your schedule, Auntie Snixx don't do no tour guide shit and this is getting real close," she says while glaring at me slightly. Hmm, slightly possessive, I smile as I hand my schedule to Lucy, I like it better than Quinn,

"You have the same English and calculus classes as me, then we all have the same Phys Ed class, so we need to get going now," she turns to her friends, "we'll meet up at Phys Ed," then looks back at me, "we'll see what you can do during recess, but judging by the way you and Puck get along you won't be sitting with us," she says with a hint of guilt, I shrug indifferently,

"It's cool, I'm sure I'll find something to do," I smile disarmingly, she flashes me a slight grin before schooling her features, she turns on her heel carrying her books,

"Let's go," she says, it's then that I notice that Santana and Brittany have left, I glance at the clock and sigh,

Shit this is going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>God I hope Lex is having a better first day then me.<p>

My English teacher was a total bitch, I just don't get how I was insulting Shakespeare works by implying he must have been gay to have had that many love scenes and no female actors, it was a fair observation, although Lucy didn't look to happy with me either. Then when we were answering questions about the themes Shakespeare used in Macbeth to connect with the audience of his time and I replied with, "Girls wear the pants in the relationship", she sent me to Figgins office, I mean it was an honest answer, luckily Figgins ignored it as it was my first infraction, but during the rest of the period she would stop and glare at me between lapses of conversation. The only upside was on the way to Calculus me and Luce really got talking and she told me about her life so far at McKinley, but she still doesn't know who I am yet. Calculus was a bore, taught by a teacher who didn't really want to be there or know what they were talking about not to mention the first experience of Rachel Berry, unfortunately. It's not that she's a bad person, or deliberately a bitch, but its more that she doesn't really know how condescending she sounds, or how much she talks, or the fact that her voice is an annoyingly squeaky pitch, but she means well, I think. And now I'm walking with Lucy to our Phys Ed class, she's been staring at me the entire time but I don't think she's realized just yet,

"What?" I ask with a smile, she stops abruptly while pushing me into an empty classroom and against the door, she raises her right hand to brush my bangs away from my eyes, her eyes bore into mine with intensity and her bottom lip pushes out slightly in thought,

"I know you," she states softly but with conviction, "I know you, but I don't," she shakes her head in frustration, "I'm not making any sense," her hand slides down my face to my chest and grips the material there, "I know you but, I don't remember where," she says looking down at my silver chain, she lets go of the material of my white tee to cup the cross hanging along the chain, stroking it with her thumb, she looks back at my eyes, "Where did you get this?" she asked with heat, "I gave one exactly like this to..." she stops herself and focuses back on the cross, she flips the ornament in her hand to reveal the inscription, "To My Best Friend, From Lucy," it slides from her lips in a breath, she pushes her hand into the neckline of her white turtle neck and pulls out a silver heart locket that I had given her before the accident, "what's the inscription?" she demands looking pointedly at me, I smile softly,

"Why? I would have thought you would remember after all these years," I ask looking away from her eyes and pushing off the door and moving around her to sit on the desk at the front of class, "I know I do," I say while stuffing my hands in my pocket and smiling at her serenely, she takes a shuddering breath and her eyes begin to shine slightly while she approaches me and grips at the hem of her shirt, she stops two feet in front of me,

"What's. The. Inscription?" she pronounces each word clearly, I sigh heavily before approaching her cautiously, she raises her arms and pushes against my chest slightly as I wrap my arms around her waist, she struggles against me for a few moments before she relents and rests her forehead against my chest, "Please?" she whispers pleadingly, I feel the hot tears that leak from her eyes stain my shirt, I lay soft kisses along her hairline, trailing down to her ear,

"I will always belong to you, with love, Artie," I breath into her neck, her hands snake along my chest and around my neck, locking together at the base of my neck, she sniffles into my chest and tries to compose herself,

"You left," she says simply after calming slightly, she pulls back to look into my eyes with a hurt expression, I look down at her locket and snort out a sharp laugh,

"Not by choice," I say with a defensive tone of voice, "I had to, I had to be strong for Lex, and I just couldn't," my voice hitches slightly, "I couldn't do that here, not around... the accident, you know," she still looks a little hurt so I continue, "but even though I couldn't stay, I never forgot, not you, not us," she smiles lightly, "even in memory, you helped me stay strong, besides," I lightly finger the locket and pop it open, "I never really left," I finish with a smirk, her smile widens before she remembers where we're supposed to be, she grabs my hand and pulls me behind her in the direction of the gym,

"I was supposed to meet Santana and Brittany before Phys Ed," she says frantically, I jog with her until I get bored, I drop behind her slightly and line up directly behind her before speeding up and dropping my left arm underneath the back of her knees and lifting so that her back fell toward my right arm into a bridal carry, she laughs as I pick up the speed into a full out sprint and pass the last stragglers getting to class. I glance at a passing clock and see that there's two minutes to get to a roughly one minute destination, I push the speed up even more, breezing past the faculty lounge and knocking a teacher with a stack of papers of balance. All the while Lucy just laughs as I sprint down the halls with a vice grip around my neck.

* * *

><p>We made it to the gym with a minute to spear.<p>

Unfortunately I have the same Phys Ed class as the three douche bags from homeroom as well as the venerable hairless Sasquatch who I learned was named Finn, but what really got me was the fact that he was dating Lucy, he's just so stupid, or slow I guess. I mean don't get me wrong, he's a good dude, it's just irritating having to reduce your vocabulary to compensate for his benefit. Phys Ed isn't that bad, at least we're doing basketball, I enjoy basketball. Lucy is in the stands with the rest of the Cheerios squad, apparently Coach Sylvester, as she likes to be called, has the ability to exempt her squad from participating in actual physical activity due to "risk of injury", while the rest of us are running lay up drills.

Rookie stuff.

A few minutes into the drills, Coach Tanaka blows the whistle, he's a 40 year old overweight male with a receding hairline and black hair, wearing a short sleeve polo shirt tucked into a pair of rugby shorts with knee length high socks and a pair of plain trainers,

"Alright boys line it up," he begins, when we assembled into the middle of the court he continued, "now we're gonna have a little scrimmage, so I need two volunteers," he glances along the rows of boys until finally resting on me, "Abrams, team 1 and," he continues searching until he finds... "Hudson, your up," we both proceed to the front of the class, "alright boys team selection, pick away," he steps off to the sideline and picks up a doughnut from the 12 pack he's been eating since the beginning of the period, I look at the line up and automatically rule out the jocks and go straight for the less capable of the students,

"Kurt," I take my first pick, there's a shocked silence from the collective of the guys until Kurt breaks the awkwardness,

"Um, excuse me, did you get the right name," he says nervously, I frown slightly,

"Did I stutter? Unless your name isn't Kurt I think I was pretty clear," I say sharply to play off the annoyance I am feeling, he walks slowly towards me to line up behind me, the class is still staring and it's starting to bug Kurt,

"Well Hudson, your up," I say impatiently, he looks confused for a moment before shaking off his stupor,

"Um sure, uh Puck."

We continue until the class was split into two even teams, the jocks against my team, just the way I like it, Coach Tanaka seems to realize his class consists of more than his box of doughnuts,

"Alright ladies, lets get things going, Hudson, Abrams, who's taking the toss," he says harshly,

"I am,"

"I am," we say simultaneously, I feel Finn look at me in shock but I keep my attention on Coach Tanaka, he glances incredulously at my 5'11 stature and then at Finn's 6'3 monstrosity before sighing with a shake of his head,

"Whatever," he says while retrieving the ball, we set up our teams in position, well more like I set my team into position, before Coach reaches center court with the ball,

"Alright, I want a nice clean game, that means no injuries Puckerman, got it, good, lets go," we square up for the jump until the ball is released into the air, as soon as the ball reaches the height of it's arc I jump and tip the ball off to Kurt who's behind me, everyone's frozen when I hit the ground glancing between me and the ball which is currently in Kurt's hands, the whistle blows,

"What are you waiting for ladies, the ball's in play," and with that the ball is swatted out of Kurt's hands by Puckerman, he dribbles down the court, the defense not even trying to stop him, with me trailing him silently, he grasps the ball in his right hand, I jump, and he takes a shoot from under the basket, before the ball drops into the rim I swat it with my left hand off the backboard and catch it with my right. As soon as I hit the ground I go into action, spinning around Puck and dashing towards the other basket, I run the right side off court going around the, now, frozen opposition and cut toward the basket on a 45 degree angle. By now the defense has finally caught on and has just dashed to the hoop in time, I change my direction to run parallel with the baseline in order to avoid the now assembled defense before spinning back in, around the player marking me, and continuing along the baseline, I jump in preparation for a lay up, until Finn appears in my vision, thinking quickly, I spin myself in a clockwise direction avoiding him in the air. I'm in the air facing away from the basket with the giant that is Finn Hudson, now facing in the opposite direction, behind me so I do the only logical thing, I complete my turn and end up facing the basket while moving farther away from it with each passing micro second, as I begin to drop I bring my left hand on top of the ball and throw it with all my strength right into the net gripping the rim in the process. I land on my feet but stumble backwards onto my back sliding a little further away with the momentum. There's silence the entire time I get back to my feet, the class is looking at me shocked again until a laugh from the stands breaks the tension, Lucy is sitting in front of the pack of Cheerios with a laptop resting on her knees laughing at something they were watching, they stop when they realize they're being watched,

"Sorry Coach," Lucy says sweetly, Tanaka just shakes his head and blows his whistle,

"Point to Abrams."

And with that the game was on.

* * *

><p>21 – 19 to Abrams.<p>

It's being passed around school like wildfire. No one could believe my team of "Social Rejects" could beat the Jocks in any physical activity. Of course the fact that it was the new kid that, pretty much, single-handedly destroyed the team with the captain of the basketball team in it increased the priority level of gossip exponentially. After showering and leaving with the rest of the jocks to meet up with Lucy and the girls, some of which were hanging off of any part of me in reach once I was in sight, she invited me to sit with them during recess. I was slightly annoyed that Brittany and Santana were part of the newly formed AJ Abrams-is-hot fan club, add that to the fact that every person we passed was staring at me as if I was a lab experiment, that leads too a very annoyed Artie, eating lunch with the obnoxiously loud jocks, with girls caressing my arms on either side while being on the receiving end of one Lucy Fabray's heated death glares, though I'm not quite sure who she's trying to kill more, me or the arm candy.

I pick at my home cooked BLT with the fork in my left hand while texting Lex about her day so far with my right, I'm broken out of my focused trance by one of the nameless cheerios on my right curling her hands around my biceps,

"Who are you texting?" she asks bluntly, I frown at her rudeness before deciding it wasn't worth bringing up, and answering,

"My sister," I reply in a defensive tone, there's a chorus of "aww's" from the various cheerleaders surrounding the table before the nameless cheerio number two breaks it,

"What's her name?" she asks sweetly, I glance around the table to find everyone of the cheerleaders looking solely at me,

"Alexandra," I state quietly, I'm immediately bombarded with questions ranging from "Does she attend here?" and "How old is she?" to "Does she cheer?" and "Is she as pretty as you ?", I grow frustrated rather quickly and take a deep breath, I keep my tone kind as I answer the questions as chronologically as I can,

"Yes she attends here, she's a freshman, she's 14, she loves music, she's athletic but she doesn't cheer, she hates eating anything remotely healthy, she doesn't like people wearing pants under skirts, her favorite color is purple, her favorite number is two, she has brown, long hair, she's 5'6, she hates scarfs, long socks, scrunchies, horn dogs, creeps, assholes and losing, her favorite things to do are shopping, running, cooking, singing and hanging out with me and yes," I finally breathe, "she is much prettier than me," sometime during my rant my eyes had traveled towards my plate sitting on the table, so I raise them to meet everyone's eyes, the guys had burst with laughter as soon as I finished speaking so I was treated to the sight of how disgusting their half eaten food looks inside their mouth before I finally divert my eyes, the girls are looking at me like I was the cutest thing in the pet shop, with a few obvious exceptions, and they want to take me home with them to cuddle, Lucy breaks the girls silence,

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard," she says with a soft smile, she grasps my left hand softly with hers from across the table, "you'd be an amazing brother," she finishes with a squeeze of my hand, she withdraws her hand as I hear a familiar voice calling my name from across the cafeteria,

"Artie, Artie," I smile to myself as I twist myself out of the grip the two nameless cheerleaders have me in and stand to meet my sister, she launches herself at me in a vice like hug while I wrap my hands loosely across her back, she pulls back slightly and smiles with excitement,

"They have a choir room Artie, with all kinds of instruments to play, you have to see it and my new friends Amber and Dianna are going out for the junior varsity cheerios and they asked if I could try out with them," my smile wanes a little, she notices and quickly tries to convince me, "I know you don't like Coach Sylvester but she is the best female athletic director in the state right now and it would be really beneficial for me career wise," she smiles hopefully up at me, I'm not really convinced so I open my mouth to shoot the idea down before I hear Luce speak up from behind us,

"We could keep an eye on her, couldn't we girls," when I turn to look at them they nod enthusiastically with adoration, but my eyes lock with Lucy's and ask her specifically for reassurance, she nods sharply once and smiles at me in support of her actions, I close my eyes and shake my head in frustration before turning back to Lex, I sigh and let out a laugh of conceit,

"Fine," I relent as she hugs me tighter and kisses my cheek, "So you wanted to show me this choir room," I ask her, she smiles even wider and nods rapidly,

"Yeah, I just need to tell the girls and I'll be right back," she slips from my arms as I turn to address the collective of the table, the nameless cheerleader number two breaks in before I can bow out gracefully,

"She's really pretty," she says almost as if she were flirting with _me_ by saying that, I glance at her with what I'm sure is a strange face,

"Thanks?" I say uncertainly, I'm about to continue before I'm interrupted again,

"Screw pretty," Noah begins from the far side of the table, I glare at him as soon as I hear his voice, "she's fucking hot, if she were a year older I'd bend her over and..." my fork implants itself into the plastic of his lunch tray, half an inch from his right hand,

"You finish that sentence," I begin with a deadly glare while leaning on the table with both my hands, "and I'll kill you," I finish in a venomous hiss, he stops dead in his tracks when my glacial eyes lock with his horrifically veiled terrified ones, I hear someone clear their throat behind me,

"Is there a problem?" she asks bluntly, I turn my head to my sister and smile,

"Not at all I was just saying goodbye," as I turn my head back I hear her mutter of "bullshit", "I'm sorry about that," I smile apologetically and again lock eyes with Lucy, who had just finished glaring at Noah "thank you again Quinn," she smiles when I address her, "it was a pleasure to accompany you today, but I believe I'll be fine, I don't want to interfere with your classes," as she opens her mouth to protest I continue, "don't worry I have your number if I need anything," I smile politely at the crowded table, "later guys," I say as I turn and throw my arm over Lex's shoulder and walk with her out of the cafeteria.

Before I leave the cafeteria fully I receive a text message,

_From : Lucy Q_

_Meet me after school in the auditorium._

I smirk and look over my shoulder at her, I wink indicating that I would be there.

* * *

><p>"Why won't you just tell me what that guy said,"<p>

Lex has been bothering me with various variations of that question on the way to the choir room. It's not that I don't want to tell her, I don't really care, it's that it isn't her business and she shouldn't have to hear about douche bags like Puckerman with their disgusting comments.

"Because it's nothing," I say with finality, "besides it shouldn't matter to you, it's between him and me," she walks through a door to our right and I assume we're at the choir room, so I follow her, she's sitting behind a grand piano that dominates the center of the room with her eyes closed and serene smile painted across her features, the room isn't very big, opposite to the door is, what I'm assuming is, a seating area judging by the chairs stacked in the corner, there are various guitars and a drum set placed on the left upon entering the door and there is a whiteboard at the wall alongside the door that doubles as a storage cupboard,

"So is this it," I ask with a small smile at my sisters happiness, "not bad," I comment needlessly, she opens her eyes slowly and pats the space on the bench next to her with her left hand,

"Play with me," I smirk and begin to open my mouth before she cuts me off with a short glare, "you know what I mean," I lower my smirk into a soft smile and glide myself into the chair next to her, I drop my satchel on the ground next to me and open the cover of the piano, I play a few notes,

"What do you want?" I ask distantly, she rest her head on my shoulder and whisper,

"Whatever you feel," she replies tapping my heart, I laugh slightly and start to play,

"Pick it up," I say amidst the notes, she nods against my shoulder,

**(Stevie Wonder & Beyonce Knowles – So Amazing)**

**(Lex)**

**Love has truly been good to me  
>Not even one sad day<br>Or minute have I had  
>Since yo<strong>**u've come my way**

**I hope you know, I'd gladly go**  
><strong>Anywhere you'd take me<strong>

**(Both)  
>It's so amazing to be loved<br>I'd follow you to the moon in the sky above  
>Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, I'd go<br>**

Her eyes are close as she sways on the spot, smiling like the world around her doesn't exist any more, I mirror her smile as I pick up where she left off,

**(Artie)  
>Got to tell you how you thrill me<br>I'm happy as I can be  
>You have come<br>And it's changed my whole world**

**Bye-bye sadness, hello mellow**  
><strong>What a wonderful day<strong>

**(Both)  
>It's so amazing to be loved<br>I'd follow you to the moon in the sky above  
>Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, I'd go<strong>

**And it's so amazing, amazing**

**(So amazing)  
>I could stay forever, forever<br>(Stay for ever)  
>Here in love and no, leave you never<br>(No, leave you never)  
><strong>**'Cause we've got amazing love  
>(Amazing love)<strong>

**Truly it's so amazing, amazing**  
><strong>(So amazing)<strong>  
><strong>Love bought us together, together<strong>  
><strong>(We're together)<strong>  
><strong>I will leave you never and never<strong>  
><strong>(Leave you never)<strong>  
><strong>I guess, we've got amazing love<strong>  
><strong>(Amazing love)<strong>

**Ooh, so amazing and I've been waiting**  
><strong>For a love like you<strong>

**It's so amazing to be loved**  
><strong>I'd follow you to the moon in the sky above<strong>  
><strong>Oh, and it's so, it's so<strong>

**It's so amazing to be loved**  
><strong>I'd follow you to the moon in the sky above<strong>  
><strong>And you know, it's so<strong>

**It's so amazing to be loved**  
><strong>I'd follow you to the moon in the sky above<strong>  
><strong>Hey, hey, hey, yeah, it's so<strong>

**It's so amazing to be loved**  
><strong>I'd follow you to the moon in the sky above<strong>  
><strong>Hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah, yeah, hey, it's so<strong>

**It's so amazing**

The song comes to a close as we hear clapping from the doorway, my head whips around to see the teacher from this morning, Mr Schuester if my memory serves well, as he walks toward us with a look of awe plastered across his face,

"That was amazing guys," my sister beams with pride next to me while I school my features into an unreadable mask of indifference, "really something special, you have so much talent," he says enthusiastically, his eyes dart between me, disappointed by my lack of enthusiasm, and Lex, slightly mollified with her enjoyment of the praise, when no one says anything for a few awkward seconds he continues, "You're new here right?" I give a single deliberately slow nod while my sister answers,

"Yeah, I think I have you for Spanish 5th period, Mr Schuester right?," she asks with a prideful smile while I pick up my satchel from beside me, he nods and begins hesitantly,

"You know, I'm going to be taking over McKinley Highs glee club and I thought you'd like to know that I'm holding open auditions tomorrow during lunch, and I would really love for you to come. We need some talented kids to help us win first place at the national show choir competition," he smiles at the both of us, I open my mouth to ruthlessly shoot the idea down before Lex speaks up, but she beats me to the punch,

"I'll be there," she states with confidence, he raises his hand in a high five gesture and my sister obliges,

"Alright," he drags out the R before turning to me, "what about you, are you in?" I look at him through steeled eyes and walk towards the door, I stop at the frame,

"I don't sing for peoples entertainment," I glare over my shoulder at him before turning to Lex, "I'll see you at lunch," I comment while walking away,

"But I have cheer lead... " I hear the confusion in her voice and answer before she can finish,

"Out on the football field, I know." I say loud enough so that my voice fades just within earshot of my sister.

* * *

><p>The last three periods before lunch was pure and unadulterated torture. AP Chemistry was utterly uneventful and a complete waste of time so I ended up walking out of the room half way through the lesson, I'm still not sure if he even noticed I had left. Then came Sociology, or as I like to call it nap time, it was taught by a husk of a man who's speech was barely discernible and was as about as exciting as watching paint dry, or maybe less, trust me, I've watched paint dry. When I finally woke up from the semi enjoyable nap I was already twenty minutes late for my next period, which was luckily study hall. I spent most of that time sitting off the edge of the school roof and throwing pieces of gravel at the trash can across the parking lot while nibbling on an apple. When the bell had finally rung, signalling for the beginning of lunch, I was already in the boys locker room, gearing up for the football try outs, having gotten bored of tossing stones off the roof. By the time I had finished gearing up Coach Tanaka was already out on the field waiting for the rest of the team to show up. He was shocked, to say the least, that someone had showed up this early to witness the fact that he had another twelve pack of jelly doughnuts. The first comment I made about it had me running laps around the football field. While on my twenty fifth lap of the field, in under eleven minutes I might add, the cheerleaders started to file in with Coach Sylvester in the lead. On my thirtieth lap my sister and her friends came barrelling onto the field. On my thirty seventh lap Lucy, Santana and Brittany came gliding onto the field taking my sister and her friends off to the side. By my fortieth lap I had removed both my shoulder pads and under shirt which caused the cheerleaders, both junior and varsity, to be fixated on my progress along the outside of the field, giggling and waving every time I passed. By my forty fifth lap I was visibly smirking as my sister looked ready to figuratively and literally explode at some of the suggestive remarks made by the rest of the squad. On my fiftieth lap the rest of the football team and hopefuls had piled sluggishly onto the field and joined me in warming up. The whistle blows signalling us to finish up,<p>

I slow myself into a jog, slowly making my way to the centre field, I place my index and middle fingers to my neck and check my pulse while glancing at my watch. I mentally record that in under twenty three minutes I had run almost ten miles while taking a small swig of my water bottle which was handed to me by Coach Tanaka,

"Alright boys, now that were all warmed up, it's time to get some drills in, but first I've got some of the boys from last year that are being kept on the offensive line indefinitely, you can still try out for the offensive line but only two of you will be guaranteed a spot to play while the rest of you will be second string, Hudson, Puckerman, Chang, Rutherford, Adams, Karofsky, Tinsley, Rashad and Strando, your our varsity team, alright lets get some 50/40's going." with a sharp blow of the whistle we were dismissed to our drills, I begin to walk with the other guys towards the first cone while putting on my undershirt when I hear my name barked from behind me,

"Abrams," I glance over my shoulder at Coach Tanaka as he beckons me over, "you did good on that run kid, better than anyone I've ever seen," he pulls out his clipboard, "what position are you going out for?" I answer back slowly after a pause,

"Running Back, well Half Back Coach," he nods and scribbles on his pad,

"Your in," he states gruffly,

"Thanks Coach," I say politely, not really caring either way, he grunts,

"Yeah, but just because you made the team it don't mean you get a free pass on trials, lets just say your on... probation," he says sounding not nearly as sly as he probably thinks,

"Sure coach," I say while suiting back up with my shoulder pads, I jog to join the rest of the guys in their stretching, but as I get into starting position Puck's there to greet me,

"What the hell are you doing here fresh meat?" he says venomously, I glare back just as heatedly,

"It was your stupid idea in the first place and now Figgins expects to see me out here trialling with everyone else, so shut the fuck up, mind your own business, and I'll mind mine, okay," I say sharply, he looks slightly annoyed at himself now rather then the totally pissed he was before that statement, he opens his mouth, but then closes it, he flounders for a moment before finally just shaking his head and walking away,

Time Skip - 37 minutes – Ringing of the bell

"Alright boys file in," as we all blunder our way to Coach Tanaka I take my time to look over to the Cheerios and check on my sister, she's smiling and laughing with Lucy and her friends glancing over at the animals on trial every now and then, Lucy catches my glance and smiles softly, I raise my hand and wave slightly receiving giggles and smirks in return, "Abrams," I snap my eyes back to the coach, "if your done flirting with the cheerleaders, we got a huddle going on," I frown internally and walk leisurely into the circle of panting Neanderthals, "alright now, I've convinced Figgins to give you all exemptions from your next class," insert cheering from the gorilla coalition, "shut it," he snarls viciously, he calms almost immediately after, "so were going to have a little scrimmage, Offensive Line, Hudson, Quarterback Strando, Center, Rutherford and Adams, Tackles, Karofsky and Tinsley, Guards, Puckerman and Chang, Receivers, Abrams and Morrison, Backs and Rashad will play Tight End, cool? Good, now defensive line, Salling, Nose Tackle..." as he lists off the remainder of the defensive line and the special teams the offensive line gathers at our defending 30,

"Alright guys huddle up," Hudson begins, "I don't care what issues you have with each other personally," he glances between me and Puck, "but out on this field we're brothers, we play like brothers, fight like brothers, and if we act like bothers," he clenches his fist, "we'll win like brothers," he smiles at his own misguided cleverness, the rest of the team looks positively inspired so I grin in forced enthusiasm, he puts his hand into the middle of the huddle, "alright guys, brothers on three, one, two, three,"

"BROTHERS"

Within minutes the teams have been selected and the coin toss has been taken with the outcome being the offensive receiving. The ball is kicked off and received on our defending 10 by Rashad, he takes the rush as we cover him with a spearhead formation. I've blocked three people by now and we're still going strong into the attacking 40 before Salling slips past Strando and pegs Rashad in the abdomen. The down is called and we all gather into the huddle, Hudson calls the play,

"Flex Bone 22 Pitch, ready, break,"

We line up on the 43, me directly to the left of the left tackle, Adams, and Morrison mirroring me with Rutherford as a substitute, while the wide receivers were on the line of scrimmage just on the outside of the tackles and slightly in front of us, the hut is called and we snap into action, Morrison and I move forward to the line of scrimmage and block our opposition while the receivers sprint ten yards into the field before cutting into centre field, their paths cross and Hudson releases the ball towards the right side of the field and into the path that Chang was taking, before Chang has the chance to go for the ball it sails towards the outline, the whistle blows,

"Incomplete," Tanaka's voice barks impatiently, we huddle again and before anyone can comment Hudson is already calling another play, he glares at me from the corner of his eyes and glances over to Lucy and my sister who, I assume, were excused from class,

"Power I Right X Post Y Out, ready, break," I shake my head in annoyance and sigh, with a clap we take formation, me lining up behind Hudson ready to block for him on the right while Morrison is behind me ready to block for his left, Hudson calls the hut and we snap into play, he backs up and I burst to the right, I throw myself into the tackle taking down the rushing defensive line man and rolling into a standing position and looking for any more rushing defenders, by the time I finish my cursory glance around the field the whistle is blowing again,

"Incomplete," Tanaka drones again, Hudson is lying on his back at the 47 yard line and angrily gets up stomping towards our team,

By now I'm thoroughly annoyed at Hudson seemingly trying to be the driving force behind our team despite the fact that he has about the same mobility as a rock and the arm power equivalent to that of a rabid chihuahua, we curl in around the huddle and I open my mouth to insult him with a scathing remark when he unknowingly, or knowingly, I can't quite decide, cuts me off, with a deep frown he speaks,

"Shotgun 20 Post Wide, ready, break," this time he doesn't even wait for us to break before leading off from the pack, I chance a look at my surrounding team mates scowls that are directed towards his retreating figure and growl deep in my throat, a few of the guys notice and I stop myself from tearing into him before snarling,

"Lets just get this over with," I shake my head in frustration as I walk into formation, I line up directly beside Hudson and behind the Right Guard, I glare sideways at him, he ignores me pointedly as he sets up for the play, the ball is snapped and I blitz off the line pushing through the gap between the Right Tackle and the Tight End and sprinting down the field, I push past the 30 yard line, the 20, the 10, before I look back in anticipation of the pass, my blood ignites into catastrophic proportions when I meet Hudsons' eyes, he glares tightly at me between the gaps of his face mask and looks towards Chang who is covered by two and counting players, he lets the ball fly and it's knocked out of the air by Salling covering Chang,

"Incomplete," Tanaka says in boredom,

I walk angrily up the field where the huddle is taking place, using the time to formulate my game plan, when I reach the huddle I break right through the middle and grab Hudson by his face mask and wrench him to the ground, his shoulder pads make hard contact with the ground and you can hear the snap of plastic as he hits the dirt, the team clears a path for me toward him as he gets up quickly, ducks his shoulder and tries to spear me, I step to the left and grip him by the back of the helmet, forcing his head lower, and using his force of velocity to flip him onto his back, the wind leaves his lungs in a short sharp exhale as I drop my right knee into his sternum, I pull him by the helmet closer to my face,

"What the hell is your problem with me?" I say in a vicious whisper, he doesn't answer immediately but eventually wheezes out,

"What the hell is with you and Quinn?" he says with just as much venom, I narrow my eyes further into slits and glance at Lucy and her friends who are staring over at us in surprise, Lucy and Lex share a glance before looking questioningly at me,

_When did they become such good friends,_

I give an almost unnoticeable shake of my head before looking back at his eyes,

"She showed me around to my classes," I say with less anger and more honest annoyance, "and she was courteous to me today," I get off of him and offer him a hand up with a small smirk, "it's the least I can do to be the same to her," I finish with an emotionless face as thoughts of Lucy leave me, he looks confusedly at my hand before cautiously taking it and hauling himself up,

"So all that stuff in the cafeteria..." he stutters, I'm slightly surprised that Coach Tanaka hasn't noticed our little scuffle, I finish flatly,

"Was her being nice," he smiles apologetically and scratches his head,

"Hey I'm sorry man," he says embarrassingly, "I just thought that..."

"It's fine," I say imperiously, "Let's get on with the game," I say over my shoulder as I walk back toward the huddle, the guys clear a path for me as I stand opposite to Hudson, he clears his throat nervously as everyone eyes the two of us uncomfortably, he looks to me for support and I sigh slowly,

"Pro 44 blast 28 pitch," I command easily, the gorillas look at me in confusion, I raise an eyebrow at their expressions, "What?" I question, "go big or go home, right?" I ask with a smirk, they chuckle gruffly in acknowledgement while murmuring sounds of agreement, Hudson smiles enthusiastically,

"Lets do it," he says while raising his hand into the center, we mirror his actions, he glances at me,

"Why don't you do the honours dude," I keep my mask of aloofness even as I nod sharply to his suggestion,

"Brothers on three, one, two, three..."

"BROTHERS!" they roar as we set up for our last chance play, Rashad is on the far left next to Adams, Karofsky takes the spot of the left guard with Tinsley mirroring him on the opposite of Strando, Puckerman takes the far left of the offensive line while Chang takes the right, Hudson sets himself up behind Strando with myself and Morrison on either side of him about two feet back, I take the left and glance over to Morrison giving him a sharp nod in confirmation of who's running, the hut is called and the ball is snapped to Hudson, he turns himself to the right and fakes the short pitch to Morrison who charges into Salling on the blitz, both Morrison and Salling hit the ground with a vicious thud as Hudson completes his rotation and pitches the ball to me on the 45 yard line, Rashad takes a hit from a defensive men as I sprint past his zone, I hit the 35 yard line when I cut into centre field and the Middle Linebacker is waiting for me, I spot Chang running a sweep on my coming right with his defender in the dust behind him, I spin counter clockwise onto my left foot and pitch the ball lightly to Chang, just as the ball begins to leave my arms reach I grip it with my finger tips and continue rushing down the right side outline, I ease off of my speed and slow myself to a run towards the end zone before I see Salling out of the corner of my eye, he ducks his shoulder and charges into a spear towards my ribs, I bend knees and push myself into the air, rolling over his back and sprinting off the last 10 yards to the end zone,

The whistle blows but this time,

"Touchdown Abrams," Coach Tanaka says with some life back into his voice, the boys crowd around me and lift me on to their shoulders, I looked over towards the cheerleaders and noticed that both Lucy and Lex were paying rapt attention to the game so I smirk, lift my right hand to my heart, tap it lightly and kiss my fingers then point towards them, Lucy smirks flirtatiously and lifts her locket to her lips teasing the metal before dropping back to her chest, before we can continue doing... whatever we were doing Coach Tanaka interrupts us,

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THERE'S STILL 20 MINUTES LEFT OF PLAY SO GET YOUR PANSY ASSES BACK INTO THE HUDDLE," he screeches annoyingly at our team,

Half a minute later our special team has set up for a field goal, the Long Snapper snaps the ball and the Holder sets the Kicker for the one point conversion, we watch the ball fly through the air before finally,

Success.

* * *

><p>The rest of the game was much smoother than the first set of downs and we won by a very large margin. Half the team was running wind sprints by the time I left because Puckerman thought it would be a good idea to screw around with Coach Sylvester's Cheerio Squad. It didn't take me long to be out of the pads and other gear then have a shower in under fifteen minutes, so that by the time I had finished it would only be about ten minutes into the next period. When I walked into Mr Schuester's Spanish class there was only thirty minutes of the lesson left. Ten minutes into the class Lucy, Noah and Finn walked in, the boys looking half dead and Lucy looking rather revolted at the sight of them. When I caught her eyes she smirked sexily at me and swayed her way to the seat next to me out the back. Throughout the remainder of the period I shared little glances and secret smiles with her when we could get away with it. By the time the bell rang for the end of school I had dropped a note on Lucy's telling her I'd be in the auditorium in five.<p>

I've been waiting in the parking lot for two minutes waiting on Lex when she walks through the front of the school with her two friends from the cafeteria, she spots me through the crowd and turns to her friends before walking toward me and my bike,

"Come on lets go," she says excitedly, I stop her before she can get on,

"Not quite yet," I say the a smile, she looks at me with a raised eyebrow,

"Oh," she questions haughtily, I smile wider when I hear the roar of a Harley rip through the air, a path clears as Marcel pulls up next to the pavement and takes off his helmet,

"What up hombre," he says while holding out his fist, I bump fists with him,

"Thanks for this man," I say genuinely, he smirks,

"It's cool ese, but you owe me one," he says while tossing Lex his extra helmet, "get on chica, we gotta get home quick, you gotta make me something to eat," he says jokingly, Lex looks at me with a sweet smile,

"And when were you gonna tell me about this development," she says coldly, I chuckle nervously and kiss her cheek,

"I got something to do now," if anything that statement annoys her even more, "but I'll make it up to you I promise," I say slightly pleadingly, she huffs,

"Fine, but your helping me work on a song for auditions tomorrow," she states triumphantly, I exhale

"Fine," I digress, I hug her and kiss the top of her hair before walking back towards the school entry, "I'll see you at home," I call over my shoulder.

* * *

><p>I walk down the aisle between the seats of the auditorium.<p>

It's a dark room with a theatrical feel to it, black curtains, black chairs, black stage and even a black roof. A single piano sits on stage with a ladder I can see through the gaps of the curtain backstage, I reach the raised platform of the stage and pull my self into a stand from rolling onto the hardwood floor. I look out to the seating area of the audience and smirk to myself when a song pops into my head,

**(Michael Jackson – The Way You Make Me Feel)**

**You knock me off of my feet now baby, whoooo,**

**Hey pretty baby with the high heels **

**You give me fever like I've never ever known**

**Your just a product of loveliness **

**I love the groove of your walk, your talk, your dress**

**I feel your fever from miles around**

**I'll pick you up in my car and we'll paint the town**

**Just kiss me baby and tell me twice**

**That you're the one for me**

**The way you make me feel**

**You really turn me on**

**You knock me off of my feet**

**My lonely days are gone.**

I finish with a 720 spin and my head bowed towards the imaginary audience, I hear applause coming from the left side of the stage, my head snaps to its origin and I let an inaudible sigh of relief pass from my lips, Lucy approaches me slowly with a soft smile and a raised eyebrow, she stops a few feet in front of me,

"Hi," her whisper caresses my ear with a bashful touch, I mirror her smile and move closer to her until our lips are a hair widths apart, her eyes flicker to mine and I'm locked into her stare,

"Hi," I can see the shudder my breath sliding across her cheek induces despite her attempts at masking it, her fingers intertwine with mine as she rests her forehead against my chest,

"I prayed everyday that you would come back," she says in a soft whimper, guilt tears at my throat preventing me from saying anything to comfort her, I gently pull my hands from hers and wrap them around to the small of her back pulling her further into my chest, her arms snake around my neck and pull me tight into her shoulder, my right hand raises itself to toy with the hair at the base of her neck, I rub light circles on the base of her spine through the fabric of her Cheerios uniform,

"I'm here now," I breath into her hair, she laughs almost sardonically,

"Yeah now," she says shakily with a rueful toss of her head, "just five years too late," she pulls back slightly, causing my right hand to fall uselessly at my side, and slides a firm grip onto my shoulders, "it was hard for me in junior high," she shuffles her feet nervously and continues, "when you left I was so depressed, everything reminded me of you and I hated you for that," she sniffles and looks me in the eyes, "and then I'd hate myself for being so selfish that I would blame you for something like that, so eventually I started eating to comfort myself gaining a hundred pounds in the process," she inhales unevenly but ploughs through her pain, "dyed my hair brown caused I didn't feel like I deserved to be sunshine any more," she looks at me questioningly, wondering if I got the reference to my old nickname for her in relation to her hair, I smile in confirmation, "and stopped singing," she looks back down at her feet, "it was something we did together when we were happy, and I didn't want to be happy without you," she finishes ashamedly, I shake internally at her admittance but I ignore my own selfish pain and focus on the beautiful girl in front of me, I raise my right hand and cup her left cheek, caressing the smooth expanse of skin with my thumb and looking deep into her hazel brown eyes,

"I promise," I shake my head, "no, I swear on my life, I won't ever, leave you voluntarily again," I say with a raging conviction, she looks meekly back into my eyes,

"Promise?," she asks timidly, looking more like a little girl than the grown woman she is, I smile and instead of answering I lead her to sit in front of the piano, I slide into the seat next to her and open the cover,

**(RENT Cast – Seasons Of Love)**

**(Artie)**

**Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
>Six hundred minutes,<br>Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
>Moments so dear.<strong>

I look at Lucy who has rested her head on my shoulder and placed her right hand on my lap, she meets my eyes and joins the remainder of the chorus line,

**(Both)  
>Five hundred twenty-five thousand<br>Six hundred minutes  
>How do you measure,<strong>**measure a year?**

**In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights**  
><strong>In cups of coffee<strong>  
><strong>In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.<strong>

**In five hundred twenty-five thousand**  
><strong>Six hundred minutes<strong>  
><strong>How do you measure<strong>  
><strong>A year in the life?<strong>

**How about love?**  
><strong>How about love?<strong>  
><strong>How about love?<strong>

**Measure in love**

**Seasons of love.**

**Seasons of love**

**(Lucy)**  
><strong>Five hundred twenty-five thousand<strong>  
><strong>Six hundred minutes!<strong>  
><strong>Five hundred twenty-five thousand<strong>  
><strong>Journeys to plan.<strong>

**Five hundred twenty-five thousand**  
><strong>Six hundred minutes<strong>  
><strong>How do you measure the life<strong>  
><strong>Of a woman or a man?<strong>

I stare at her face in adoration as she sings her verse with her eyes clenched closed tightly and her hands on her abdomen, when she finishes I pick up my part when our eyes meet,

**(Artie)**  
><strong>In truths that she learned,<strong>  
><strong>Or in times that he cried.<strong>  
><strong>In bridges he burned,<strong>  
><strong>Or the way that she died.<strong>

**(Both)**  
><strong>It's time now to sing out,<strong>  
><strong>Tho' the story never ends<strong>  
><strong>Let's celebrate<strong>  
><strong>Remember a year in the life of friends<strong>  
><strong>Remember the love!<strong>  
><strong>Remember the love!<strong>  
><strong>Seasons of love!<strong>

**(Lucy)**  
><strong>Oh you got to got to<strong>  
><strong>Remember the love!<strong>  
><strong>You know that love is a gift from up above<strong>

**Share love, give love spread love  
>Measure measure your life in love. <strong>

As our voices fade into the silence of the auditorium I grin at Lucy who is next to me with light dancing in her eyes and a smirk on her lips,

"Do you wanna grab something to eat sunshine?" I ask her playfully while bowing on one knee with her hand in my grasp, she giggles behind her opposite hand when I kiss the one in my grip,

"Depends," she states cheekily, I grin at the small game she's playing,

"On what?" I ask imploringly, she smirks while she stands and walks towards the stairs leading off the stage,

"It just depends," she says haughtily, she sways her way towards the exit of the auditorium, she opens the door and glances over her shoulder, "well," she raises her eyebrow, "I don't believe I'm eating alone," she turns and continues walking, "right?" I hear her voice drift across the room, I smirk to myself,

"Right." I say as I follow her towards the parking lot.

* * *

><p>Lucy's arms are wrapped securely around my waist as I pull into the Fabray's driveway.<p>

I pull into a stop as she dismounts off the back of my motorbike, I glance at my watch, which says six thirty, then at the lavish mansion like residence in front of me, I smirk slightly as I comment sarcastically,

"Russell sure as hell likes his modesty doesn't he," she frowns lightly in disapproval over my language before replying,

"Yea, it's a little..." she struggles to find the right word,

"Egotistical, snobbish, tacky, cliché..." she giggles before cutting me off,

"Over the top," I smirk,

"Oh right that's what it is," I say in an over exaggerated drawl, she slaps my chest lightly and laughs in amusement, I offer my left elbow to her in a mock bow,

"Does the lady want her escort?" I question in a pathetic attempt at an English accent, she laughs and shakes her head at my idiocy,

"You are such a dork," she smiles softly even as she insults me slightly, but she loops her right arm with mine anyway "but of course I want my escort," we walk leisurely to the door until we reach the threshold of her doorway, we stop and turn to each other in synchronisation, I take her left hand with my right and raise it to my lips, brushing the back of it with the lightest of kisses before ringing the doorbell, I start conversation while we wait for someone to answer,

"Its been good hanging out today," I say with a small smile, "I haven't connected with anyone other than Lex since the... yeah," I finish uncomfortably, she returns my smile with her own as she kisses my right cheek, the corners of our lips touching, and pulls back,

"Yeah," she says simply, I'm lost in her eyes and my body moves itself on autopilot, I take a step closer to her and cup the right side of her face while griping her left hip with my remaining hand, I brush my nose along the bridge of hers and lower my lips until they hover just above hers,

"Luce," I breath shortly, her chest heaves from the intensity of the situation,

"Mmmhmmm," she mumbles unintelligibly, my lips drag along the space between hers creating an almost tangible barrier between them,

"You have to tell me what you want," I breath softly, her eyes flutter close as she grips the front of my leather jacket,

"I want," her breath flows along my lips, enticing me into their magnetic charm, before she can finish her sentence the door is opened and the voice of her mother filters into the air,

"Oh Quinnie, we were just... Oh," she finishes awkwardly as she glances between us and our intimate position, we pull apart slowly, both realising how suspicious it would be to snap away from each other, as Lucy addresses her mother,

"Hey mom," she says simply, her mother looks questioningly at her and she returns the glance with a short "I'll tell you later," before Judy speaks again,

During the short interaction I take the time to note the changes the years have had on Judy, she is still the same as I remember, almost exactly as I remember actually, blonde hair pressed close to her scalp with none of the radiance of Lucy's golden locks, I'm broken out of my short analyses when Judy begins to speak,

"So," she begins looking at my form appraisingly, "who's is this Quinnie?" she asks rather rudely, if I do say so myself, I smirk and cut Lucy off before she can answer,

"Come now Mrs Fabray, you wouldn't forget your favourite nephew would you?" she looks confused at my question before I pull the locket out from beneath my white tee, she hugs me fiercely and pulls away just as quickly before looking disbelievingly at my 5'11 frame,

"Oh darling it's so good to see you again and look at you, you've grown so much, I remember when you were still shorter than me," she smiles nostalgically, I smile a little sheepishly in return,

"I was shorter than everybody," I glance back at my best friend, "even Sunshine over there," I smile teasingly at her and she replies with a careless shrug,

"It was going to happen eventually," she says wistfully, "I hoped," she finishes with a mocking tone, Judy smiles at our banter and interjects quickly,

"Look at you two, already the best of friends," she shakes her head and smacks her lips, "darling you must be freezing out here, you simply must come inside," she says while dragging the both of us with her, I stop myself before I'm pulled through the door,

"I'm sorry but I really need to be..." I begin before I'm cut off,

"Judy what's taking you so..." Russell Fabray's stature appears in the door frame, he's aged well since the last time I saw him, short cropped blond hair, 5'10 with a fit build, eyes like a hawk from his time in the military and a lot more wrinkles,

"Evening soldier," I say with a smirk, he stands at attention in return and salutes me quickly,

"Evening sir," he says flatly with an undertone of shame, I glance at Lucy to gauge her reaction and try hard not to laugh at her shocked expression,

"Easy there Mr Fabray," I say good naturedly causing him to relax, "this is a casual visit," I finish while extending my hand, he grips it with a jolly smile,

"So I'm taking that you finally caved huh," he says with a chuckle in his voice, I smirk,

"You could say that," he laughs deep in his belly,

"Ah, woman, the keystone of our lives," he replies while throwing his arm over my shoulders, "you should stay for dinner Arthur, Caesar salad is on the menu tonight," he says with a tempting grin, I laugh in reply,

"No thank you Russell, I really should be getting home before Marcel decides to burn it down," I say jokingly, he laughs with an easy smile,

"Pity, we must go to the green some time, I can show you the old pitching swing, huh?" he asks, I nod sharply while moving down the steps of the front porch,

"Sure Russell, give me a call when your free and we'll set something up," I say politely, "Lucy has my number," I continue before he can ask, "I'll see you tomorrow Luce," I say while mounting my bike, I wave before starting the engine and taking off down the street,

Damn its been a long day.

* * *

><p>I walk through the front door while removing my leather jacket and dropping it on the coat rack, the kitchen light is on so I walk through to check who's in there,<p>

"Finally home eh ese, it's almost seven" I hear the gruff voice of Marcel echo into silence from the kitchen bench, I sigh while snagging a beer out of the fridge and plopping myself into a stool next to him,

"You have no idea," I say while clinking our bottles together, he laughs mockingly,

"That bad huh," I bark a sarcastic laugh,

"No not at all," he shrugs indifferently,

"Not my place to judge ese," I exhale loudly,

"Where's Lex at man?" I ask while taking a long pull from my bottle, he points somewhere behind him,

"Lounge ese, she hasn't left since four," he glances at me sideways, "she was waiting for you," I face palm and quickly stand up from the stool, sculling the rest of the bottle and trashing it before walking into the lounge, I spot her on the lounging chair curled in a blanket with my iPod in her lap listening to my music, I wrap my arms around her neck from behind and kiss the top of her hair,

"Whatcha listening too baby girl," I whisper quietly when she pulls a headphone out,

"I'll be missing you," she replied just as quietly, I frown slightly,

"I didn't know you liked Faith Evans," she spins in my grasp into a sitting position,

"I don't," she cycles through my iPod play list, "but I'm looking for a song to sing tomorrow," she finishes like it was obvious, I sigh in annoyance and walk over to the guitar stand picking up my Seagull S6 acoustic and sitting down next to her,

"Alright what were you thinking about?" she frowns in concentration,

"I don't know, I want to showcase my vocals without being dramatic you know?" she asks with a pout, I think for a moment before strumming a rhythm,

"What about this," I strum the introductive instrumental until she starts to sing,

**(Beyonce – Ego)**

**It's on baby, let's get lost  
>You don't need to call into work cause you're the boss<br>For real, want you to show me how you feel  
>I consider myself lucky, that's a big deal<strong>

**Why? Well, you got the key to my heart**  
><strong>But you ain't gonna need it, I'd rather you open up my body<strong>  
><strong>And show me secrets, you didn't know was inside<strong>  
><strong>No need for me to lie<strong>

**It's too big, it's too wide**  
><strong>It's too strong, it won't fit<strong>  
><strong>It's too much, it's too tough<strong>  
><strong>He talk like this 'cause he can back it up<strong>

**He got a big ego, such a huge ego**  
><strong>I love his big ego, it's too much<strong>  
><strong>He walk like this 'cause he can back it up<strong>

**Usually I'm humble, right now I don't choose**  
><strong>You can leave with me or you could have the blues<strong>  
><strong>Some call it arrogant, I call it confident<strong>  
><strong>You decide when you find on what I'm working with<strong>

**Damn I know I'm killing you with them legs**  
><strong>Better yet them thighs<strong>  
><strong>Matter a fact it's my smile or maybe my eyes<strong>  
><strong>Boy you a site to see, kind of something like me<strong>

**It's too big, it's too wide**  
><strong>It's too strong, it won't fit<strong>  
><strong>It's too much, it's too tough<strong>  
><strong>I talk like this 'cause I can back it up<strong>

**I got a big ego, such a huge ego**  
><strong>But he love my big ego, it's too much<strong>  
><strong>I walk like this 'cause I can back it up<strong>

**I, I walk like this 'cause I can back it up**  
><strong>I, I talk like this 'cause I can back it up<strong>  
><strong>I, I can back it up, I can back it up<strong>  
><strong>I walk like this 'cause I can back it up<strong>

**It's too big, it's too wide**  
><strong>It's too strong, it won't fit<strong>  
><strong>It's too much, it's too tough<strong>  
><strong>He talk like this 'cause he can back it up<strong>

**He got a big ego, such a huge ego, such a huge ego**  
><strong>I love his big ego, it's too much<strong>  
><strong>He walk like this 'cause he can back it up<strong>

**Ego so big, you must admit**  
><strong>I got every reason to feel like I'm that bitch<strong>  
><strong>Ego so strong, if you ain't know<strong>  
><strong>I don't need no beat, I can sing it with piano<strong>

She fades off with my guitar and I stare at her with a soft smile, remembering how my mom looked exactly like this when she poured herself into a song,

"Artie," Lex's voice breaks through my reverie, "are you okay?" she asks in concern, I smile softly while tears sting the back of my eyes,

"You look so much like her," I beam with pride, "and you even have her amazing voice," I pull her into my lap and hold her close to me, I rest my chin on the top of her head when she slips it into the crook of my neck,

"Artie?" she questions quietly, I sniffle a little,

"Yeah," I reply,

"Do you ever think about what it would be like if they didn't..." she doesn't need to finish the sentence, I kiss the crown of her head and whisper,

"All the time," I pull the blanket around the both of us tight, "just lay with me," I breath softly into her ear, she nods into my chest and relaxes herself into a comfortable position. Before I finally dose off to sleep one final thought floats through my head,

_What a day._


End file.
